GENEROUS philanthropists from Malmesbury have dug deep to support Julia's House's project for the first children's hospice in Wiltshire with a £25,000 donation.

Members of the Malmesbury League of Friends unanimously voted to support the project, which will see the county's first children's hospice opening in the spring, and presented their contribution to the charity in Devizes on Tuesday afternoon.

"It is a wonderful and fantastic facility and it will be the only one in Wiltshire," MLOF's vice chairman David Hide said. "It is hard to imagine anything more important. Although £25,000 is only a small percentage of the final sum, it is quite substantial and hopefully it will go a long way."

The Malmesbury League of Friends, which usually provides funds to help local people with specific medical needs and provides equipment for use at the Malmesbury Primary Care Centre and Athelstan House Care Home, decided to support the charity after it struck a chord with Mr Hide during an information event.

He said: "I went to an event at Malmesbury Leisure Centre with my wife last summer and this event was designed to draw attention to a range of good causes and charities in the area.

"We met a lady from Julia's House there and she explained what their project was and I had read about it in the Gazette & Herald. We were really impressed with what they do and at our next meeting I proposed that we support them and it was unanimously supported."

Robin Clark, MLOF chairman, added: "We are delighted to support this appeal. We know of two local families who are already being helped by Julia's House dedicated staff and there will surely be more in the future."

The new multi-million pound hospice, towards which Gazette & Herald readers raised more than £100,000, will provide a homely, welcoming place for families to visit but also a central hub for the charity from which to operate its county-wide services.

Wiltshire fundraising manager for Julia’s House Ian Wadley said: "This is a wonderfully generous donation for which we are immensely grateful. It will make such a huge difference to the care we are able to provide for local children and their families. Everybody at Julia’s House is sincerely thankful to Robin and all involved with Malmesbury League of Friends."