AN Evesham business has been lending a helping hand to Acorns Children’s Hopsice.

Tomlins Funeral Directors in The Leys, Bengeworth, gave £417.40 to the charity.

The firm’s staff, along with colleagues at Worcester, set up a Christmas tree and invited people to write a message in memory of someone they had lost. A star was provided and £1 was pledged for each star hung from the tree.

Anna Muratore from the funeral home said: “This was the fourth year we used a tree for this purpose and we were amazed by the response.

Some local residents gave additional donations when they came in to hang their stars for which we were very grateful. Many of our clients remarked how writing their message had helped them at a difficult time of the year. The fact that the children’s hospice benefited was an added bonus.”