THREE Christmas fun runs held in aid of Phyllis Tuckwell hospice services are expected to have raised £25,000 for vital caring.

The Farnham-based hospice’s fundraiser Fiona Chapman said: “To make sure all of our supporters can get to a run, we hold three, the first of which took place on November 27, at the Devil’s Punch Bowl in Hindhead.”

Other runs were held at Godalming and Aldershot in December and hundreds of Santas and Rudolphs gathered over the three events, with runs of different distances for all ages.

Fiona added: “They have all been hugely popular and successful, and great fun for everyone involved.

“Last year they raised £25,000, which is enough to cover the costs of providing our Hospice Care at Home service for eleven days, enabling patients to spend their last days at home, visited by our nurses and doctors, rather than in hospital or at the hospice.

“We are still receiving sponsorship money for this year’s runs so we don’t have a total just yet, but we hope to hit £25,000 again.”

The money will help pay for the medical and nursing care, therapies, counselling, social work advice and practical support which Phyllis Tuckwell provides to more than 250 patients, relatives and carers every day – in their own homes across Surrey and Hampshire, at the Farnham hospice and at the Beacon Centre, Guildford.

As the NHS only covers 20 per cent of costs, it has to raise more than £20,000 a day to be able to offer all of these services, free of charge, to its patients and their families.