FLOWERS captured the imagination of hundreds of county residents and helped raise more than £1,000 for a Worcester charity.

The Worcester Floral Arrangement Society organised the special flower-arranging event, which was a sell-out at The Swan Theatre in the city, and raised £1,250 for St Richard's Hospice.

More than 300 people watched talented florist Jonathan Moseley from Sheffield present a Christmas flower demonstration.

Raffle and sale

A raffle and sales of crafts and silk flowers helped boost the cash raised that will help St Richard's, at present based in Rose Hill, near the city centre, provide more care and support for county residents with life-threatening illnesses.

Chairman of the society Janet Woodfield presented the donation cheque to Marilyn Peachey, director of fund-raising for the hospice this week.

Ms Peachey said: "This is a fantastic amount of money to have raised in one evening and we are very grateful for such a generous donation.

"Events like this in the community are not only very enjoyable, but also make a big difference to our fund-raising campaign, bringing us a step nearer to building our new hospice and meeting the desperate needs of patients and their families."

Campaigners are raising funds to build the new £5.25m state-of-the-art hospice near County Hall, in Wildwood Drive, Spetchley, Worcester.

It will house all the current services offered to patients at Rose Hill, as well as 15 specialist palliative care beds, which are desperately needed but not currently available in South Worcestershire.

St Richard's has served the community for 21 years, and in addition to its 60 staff, it has 600 volunteers, many of whom are specially trained to care for patients.

All its services are free and include a day hospice, home care team, bereavement support, social work, family therapy, a counselling service, a 24-hour, on-call advice line and the Snowdrop Group for young women living with cancer.