HOSPICE officials have welcomed a cash boost and a special thank-you from a family hailing from Winsford.

The Wilkinson family of Darnhall raised £500 for St Luke’s with a trade stand competition at the Nantwich Show, where they asked visitors to guess the weight of a heavy piece of fencing machinery.

Their Nantwich-based business, Suddenstrike, provides drainage and other specialist services to the hospice off Queensway in Winsford.

Emily Wilkinson, 27, who heads the business with her father Steve and brother James, presented a cheque to the hospice’s Matron Wendy Field and its new corporate and community fundraiser, Mark Porter.

She said: “James and I grew up just a stone’s throw away from the hospice and this was our way of giving back to not only a client, but a tremendous local facility with a reputation stretching across Cheshire and beyond.

“You can’t come from this area and not know someone who has been connected with the hospice in one way or another.

“All our staff members come from the Northwich and Winsford area and when it came to raising money at the show, we had no hesitation in deciding which charity it should go to.”

Now Mark, a former cancer sufferer, is hoping to gain more corporate support from businesses of all sizes across mid and South Cheshire.

He said: “I’m only a few weeks into my new role, but everywhere I go I meet someone who has a heart-warming story to tell about St Luke’s.

“Meeting Emily was great because the family have strong mid Cheshire connections and I was able to say thank-you in person.”