STORY Homes has made an 'extremely generous' £100,000 donation to a Carlisle charity.

The housebuilder, which currently has 22 live housing developments across the north of England and southern Scotland, recently visited Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw to present the donation to staff, whilst taking the opportunity to learn more about the service and support provided to the community.

The donation made by the local business is aimed at supporting the hospice with its running costs, which are currently £4.8million, with only 20 per cent of these funds coming from the local NHS and government grants. 

Fred Story, Story Homes' founder and chairman, said: "As a Carlisle-headquartered business I am extremely proud that we’ve been able to share this donation with such an important charity that provides vital support for local people and their families at a time when it is most needed."

Whilst the care provided to patients is completely free, its delivery costs the hospice £547.95 an hour, with the local charity required to fund the first £438.

Eleanor Viney, the hospice's fundraising manager, explained how Story Homes' donation will help alleviate some of these financial pressures.

She said: "As a charity, we rely on the kindness of our local community to provide the specialist end-of-life care that local families need. 

"Without the generosity of local people and companies such as Story Homes, we couldn’t support families affected by life-limiting illness during such difficult times."

Julie Clayton, Eden Valley Hospice's CEO, added: “We were absolutely blown away by the extremely generous donation from Story Homes which will allow us to ensure that compassionate care is here now, and in the months and years to come.

"We are honoured that they have chosen to support our hospice and we would like to sincerely thank them from the bottom of our hearts."