THE start of a major fundraising appeal to build a new hospice for life-limited children in the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire has been hailed as a tremendous success, with £50,000 being donated in the first month.

The Acorns' Three Counties Appeal, launched in April this year, needs to raise £4m to build the new hospice, which will serve the North Worcestershire area.

The charity had already received £250,000 in donations in the lead up to the appeal launch, but during the month of May, in the weeks since going public, the campaign has been given a big boost by cash donations and pledges totalling £50,000.

Of this, £24,250.87 comes from public donations, with £3,526.60 being raised in Herefordshire and £20,188.07 from Worcestershire.

"The public response towards the Three Counties Appeal has just been tremendous," said Fran Winterbourn, community fundraising co-ordinator.

"We have had lots of calls from people wanting to fund-raise for us or adopt Acorns as their charity for the next 12 months.

"It's fantastic how local communities, including those in Bromsgrove, are taking this appeal to their hearts and are coming forward with some great fundraising ideas.

There's still a long way to go before we reach our £4m target, but this first month really has helped to get the Three Counties Appeal off to a flying start," added Fran.

The Acorns' office can be contacteed on 01905 .