A farming family in Ottery have raised more than £900 for Hospiscare by providing a garden waste composting service during the coronavirus lockdown.

Martin Nancekivell offered to take people’s green waste in exchange for donations to Hospiscare.

He was inundated with responses and has now presented a cheque for £903.77 to Hospiscare.

The charity’s community fundraiser for East Devon, Toni Hiscocks, said: “Not only have they offered local people the opportunity to dispose of their green waste, they have helped a very worthy cause.

“The money raised will help this local Devon end of life charity to continue the amazing service it offers to adults who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

“A terminal illness does not discriminate – Hospiscare looks after anyone from the age of 19 upwards.

“As a charity, Hospiscare relies upon the fundraising support of the community to provide its vital service.

“The coronavirus pandemic has drastically affected Hospiscare’s fundraising efforts with all 20 of our charity shops forced to close, and our fundraising events and public-facing activities cancelled.

“We have predicted a loss of over £1 million every three months until we can hopefully return to our normal levels of activity. The full impact of the pandemic on our fundraising remains unknown.

“We need our community’s support now more than ever to help our charity survive and ensure that we continue providing vital, specialist care for people living with a terminal illness in the heart of Devon.”

This is how the money is spent: £702 pays for a syringe driver, a small battery-operated device that administers medicines subcutaneously over a selected time period. £90 pays for a mobile DVD player for the room used by families staying at the hospice. £47 pays for a stethoscope, £20 provides a soft bath sheet to comfortably wrap up a patient after bathing. £14.95 is a monthly cost for a lone worker unit to keep specialist nurses safe while working out of hours in the dark, and £5.99 pays for complementary therapy oils for patients and their loved ones.

Anyone who would like to support Hospiscare with fundraising activities can call the community fundraisers on 01392 688020 for guidance, or visit their website.