A CHARITY festival set up in memory of a Worcester father has raised a record-breaking £12,400 for a local charity.

Woo Fest, returned to The Drum and Monkey pub, near Upton-upon-Severn on Saturday, July 7 and smashed its previous figure of £10,008 in 2017 for St Richard’s Hospice by more than £2,000.

This was the festival’s fourth year with more than 500 festival goers attending the family friendly event. It was the second year running that the festival boasted two stages, which allowed for continuous music throughout the event.

Siblings Luke and Ria Simons started the festival in memory of their late father, John Simons who was a local engineer. He was cared for at St Richard’s Hospice before he died in 2013, aged 66.

Luke and Ria organise and run the festival along with a committee of family and friends and 100 per cent of the proceeds from the festival are donated to the hospice as sponsors, volunteers, bands and technicians kindly provide their time and equipment for free.

Luke said: "We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of all our supporters who make Woo Fest happen.We are so grateful for all those who make it happen from the bands and engineers through to all the volunteers who get involved and the venue itself. It is fabulous news that we have raised more than £12,400 this year, something that we never thought would happen. Thank you everyone so much."

He added: "Woo Fest exists because of St Richard’s Hospice. Our personal experience of the hospice is nothing short of uplifting so we’d like to say a big thank you to all the staff who look after our loved ones when they need it most."

Charlie Homer, fundraiser at St Richard’s Hospice said: "We are so delighted for Luke and the team; they have yet again made Woo Fest an outstanding success. Their dedicated support and continued generosity is something we are so grateful for. The money they raise year on year has such a positive impact on our ability to continue to deliver bespoke and individual care for both our patients and their families in Worcestershire."

St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative and end of life care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their loved ones. Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.

St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations for three quarters of its annual £8.8m income with the remainder from the NHS.

The charity has launched the Build 2020 Appeal which aims to raise the final £1.4m needed to build a bigger hospice, enabling more patients and families to be cared for in Worcestershire.

For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit www.strichards.org.uk.