Visitors descend on Wigan and Leigh Hospice for its popular garden party

The beautiful grounds of the charity’s site on Kildare Street, Hindley, became a hive of activity on Saturday to help raise much-needed funds.

There was live music, games, raffles and a wide variety of stalls, selling crafts, bric-a-brac, plants, refreshments and more.

People could drop in to the garden party to pick up a bargain, try their luck in a tombola or simply relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

More than £3,500 was raised, which will help to pay for the care of terminally ill patients and their families.

The hospice’s garden party has long been one of the charity’s most important fund-raising events and has held for many years.

It costs £18,500 a day to run Wigan and Leigh Hospice – approximately one-third of that has traditionally come from the NHS, but the rest must come through fund-raising, including donations raised through events and left in wills.

It has to raise £12,000 through its charity shops, lottery and fund-raising, just to keep its services going, but this itself has taken a hit as people in the borough tighten their belts during the cost-of-living crisis.

Earlier this year, chief executive Jo Carby spoke out, calling for “a fundamental change to the way hospices are funded, on a national level, to make sure vital services like ours can continue to provide essential palliative and end-of-life services”.

It came after the chief executive of Hospice UK, Toby Porter, said the last year had seen the “worst financial results for the hospice sector in around 20 years”.