A FUNDRAISING appeal to build a new children's hospice, which will benefit sick Bromsgrove and Droitwich Spa youngsters, has raised over £930,000 thanks to the generosity of residents and businesses.

The Three Counties Appeal needs £4m to build and equip the new hospice in Bath Road, Worcester, which will provide respite, emergency and terminal care for children as well as providing bereavement support for families.

Worcestershire residents have embraced the appeal and raised nearly £27,000 from a variety of activities including summer balls, parachute jumps, sponsored walks and pub quizzes.

The appeal also received a £200,000 grant from the Jordan Foundation in July to build a hydrotherapy pool and a further £100,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, which supports the advancement of health, education, the arts and humanities.

Cash, which has also been raised by people and businesses in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, will help the hospice set to open in 2004, extend the specialist care it offers to life-limited children and their families in the three counties.

Acorns director of fundraising, Simon Burne, said: "The appeal is going extremely well, with lots of people wanting to play their part in helping to get the new hospice up and running.

"It's a stark fact that a child who could benefit from the Acorns care will die every 20 days in the three counties.

"At the moment, many families are struggling to cope with this terrible loss without the support a children's hospice offers."

He added: "We want to change that and the new hospice will be able to help at least 150 children at any one time."

Anyone wishing to make a donation should call Fran Winterbourne on 01905 767676.