ANOTHER new car has been purchased for the team at St John’s Hospice thanks to those who donated to the Gazette’s Driving Hospice Care campaign.

Tax claimed back on the £42,298 donated, via Gift Aid, has enabled the north Lancashire charity to buy an additional vehicle for its team of nurses, which travels across the community caring for terminally-ill people who chose to die at home.

“The demand for our Hospice at Home team has increased so much and this additional vehicle will allow for the nurses to feel safe all the time,” said hospice head of fundraising, Catherine Butterworth.

“When the car arrived at St John’s today the nurses really did feel like all their Christmasses had come at once.”

The campaign was set up in September to buy two 4x4 Kia Sportages for the 12-strong Hospice at Home team.

It touched the hearts of hundreds of local people who heard the women were battling all terrains and weathers, in a fleet of old, unreliable vehicles, to reach those who needed them for psychological and physical support.

The target of £36,800 was reached in just six weeks, with an additional £5,500 left over for ongoing maintenance of the Sportages.

But Gift Aid – which is a ‘tax recovery’ policy on donations to charitable causes – enabled the Lancaster hospice to claim an extra 25p in addition to every pound donated by UK taxpayers, which has paid for a Kia Rio to be used for urban driving.

“Kia have been incredibly generous,” explained Steve Slattery, from Rayrigg Motors.

“They’re very aware that these cars are really useful and provide a service that any of us could need in the future.

“We’re all here at Rayrigg proud and honoured to have been involved in a campaign like this.”

Ms Butterworth added: “The response has been overwhelming. Once again a big thank you to each and every individual who made a donation to the Driving Hospice Care appeal.”