DON'T damage our giraffes – that's the message from the hospice behind Worcester Stands Tall ahead of England's semi-final tomorrow.

St Richard’s Hospice launched its 10-week sculpture trail on Monday (July 9) after 18 months of planning – showcasing 30 giant decorated giraffes and 27 calves.

The trail is raising money for the hospice’s Build 2020 Appeal to expand and redevelop its building in Worcester – allowing it to care for more patients and their loved ones in the future.

Sara Matthews, project manager for Worcester Stands Tall, said: “We are so excited to see England in the semi-finals of the World Cup – but want to ask everyone to look after our giraffe sculptures while they’re out enjoying the game.

“Each giant giraffe will be auctioned in October to raise money for the hospice’s Build 2020 Appeal – so it’s important we keep them looking as fabulous as they do now.

“We hope everyone ‘has a giraffe’ at the upcoming matches while respecting our sculptures – and we’d like to say thank you to everyone for their great support so far. Come on England!”

Since the trail launched on Monday, plenty of trail ‘explorers’ have been out finding the giraffe sculptures – sharing photos and comments on social media.

Reviewing the trail on its Facebook page, Helen Boyle-Mylius said: “What a great way to raise funds for and awareness of the hospice whilst having fun and getting everyone out and about enjoying this beautiful city.”

There is now an app available for the trail – which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It allows visitors to the trail to track their progress as they walk the route, discovering giraffes and facts about the city along the way.

Trail maps are also available from points around the city, including Worcester Tourist Information Centre, Worcester Cathedral, Crowngate Shopping Centre and the Worcester Stands Tall pop-up shop – also located in Crowngate Shopping Centre.

Once the trail has finished, there will be a ‘Farewell Event’ held in the Chapter House at Worcester Cathedral from Thursday, October 4 to Sunday, October 7.

Then, each large sculpture will be auctioned on Thursday, October 11, at drp in Hartlebury, to raise money for the hospice’s Build 2020 Appeal.

The total cost for expanding and redeveloping the existing building in Wildwood Drive, Worcester, is £5.3million.

Worcester Stands Tall is supported by presenting partners Worcestershire Ambassadors and Crowngate Shopping Centre, education partner West Midland Safari Park and media partners Free Radio and Worcester News.

Find out more about Worcester Stands Tall by visiting worcesterstandstall.co.uk

Follow the trail on Facebook @WorcesterStandsTall, Twitter @WorcStandsTall and Instagram @worcesterstands

For more information about Build 2020 visit www.strichards.org.uk/build2020