An emergency fundraising appeal for the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice has raised £324,000.

But the hospice at Longthorpe, near Peterborough, which serves Rutland, still faces a £1.6million shortfall this financial year.

Hospice Director Alison Mann said: "The Coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on us. All of our shops closed overnight and our fundraising activities had to stop immediately. This resulted in a deeply concerning drop in income and for the very first time our future was in doubt.

"We received the most wonderful response to our emergency appeal from local people who have so far raised more than £324,000 for us."

Alison wanted to thank people for their support and said the struggle was not yet over.

She continued: "Our fundraising events remain cancelled for the rest of this year, we have no clear indication of how long it will take for our shops to return to normal trading levels and we continue to incur the additional cost of purchasing PPE for our doctors and nurses.

"As the Prime Minister recently announced, £3billion is being made available in order to support health services in the UK, but this will not include hospices. This means that, even if we are able to avoid a second wave of this dreadful virus, by winter Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice will be struggling again financially."

Alison added: "Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice is anticipating a funding gap of £1,600,000 (£1.6m) for the rest of this financial year alone, which is why we still so desperately need the support of our local community.

"We know that times are tough for everybody at the moment, so please be reassured that every bit really does help."

To donate, go to this link.