A DARLINGTON charity has lovely lawns and gardens thanks to a donation from a local business.

St Teresa's Hospice has been able to take advantage of a robotic lawn mower thanks to the generosity of Husqvarna – the donation formed part of the company's celebrations for building its one millionth version earlier this year.

Jane Bradshaw, the hospice's chief executive, said: “The support we have received from everyone at Husqvarna over the last two years has been tremendous, and we were delighted to receive a robotic lawn mower.

"It is doing a fantastic job and is already saving our gardener time maintaining a large section of the lawn. Our garden is a haven of tranquillity for patients and their families and we pride ourselves on keeping it well presented for all visitors to enjoy. This will make a big difference.”

The lawn mower was installed at St Teresa’s Hospice in June and tasked with maintaining a large section of perfectly cut lawn at the hospice.

Tony Curran, St Teresa’s Hospice facilities manager said: “The lawn mower looks very impressive, the area set is clearly being cut well and is saving our gardener time on maintaining that large section. I think it is great.”

Ken Brewster, from the company, said: "As our chosen charity, we wanted to give back in a distinctly Husqvarna way. We know the garden is very important to the patients and visitors at the hospice and we know our robotic lawn mower will do a great job at maintaining a beautiful garden and save them time and effort to concentrate on the important work they do.”