HOSPICES across the region have been presented with Christmas hampers from a power company.

Northern Powergrid, which ensures electricity is delivered to 3.9 million homes across the North, gave £100 hampers packed with treats and festive goodies to 40 hospices across the region.

Among the hospices receiving a hamper this year were St Teresa’s, in Darlington; Butterwick, in Bishop Auckland; Willow Burn, in Lanchester; Zoe’s Place, in Middlesbrough and St Michael's, in Harrogate.

Many of the hampers will be raffled to raise much-needed funds for the hospices.

Lisa Metcalfe, fundraising secretary at St Benedict’s Hospice and Centre for Specialist Palliative Care, said: “We’d like to thank Northern Powergrid for their continuing support of St Benedict’s Hospice.

“The beautiful hampers they send us always let us know Christmas is on its way”.

Northern Powergrid’s head of stakeholder and customer engagement, Siobhan Barton, said: “We’re really committed to helping the communities that we live and work in every single day, and this doesn’t just stop at keeping the lights on for our eight million customers.

“This is the third year we’ve made a donation of Christmas hampers to local hospices and we continue to receive really positive feedback about the hampers enabling the hospices to raise extra funds and help them carry on the vital work they do in our local communities.”