A NEW mayor has pledged his support to a hospice.

Winsford town councillor Ernie Welch, who was appointed mayor earlier this year, has shown his support for St Luke's Hospice.

Councillor Welch visited the hospice for a tour of the facility last week, accompanied by the junior mayor, nine-year-old Lily Atkin.

“I am so impressed with how much the facility has been improved and enhanced, there has obviously been a lot of good work going on in different departments," said councillor Welch.

“The amount of patients throughout the community, not just from Winsford but across Cheshire, who are looked after by St Luke’s is wonderful, around 150 people a week with various things and not just a cancer diagnosis.

"I’m totally overwhelmed and my message to everybody who does a bit of fundraising is you couldn’t put it into a better charity than St Luke’s Hospice. The key for this place is donations and fundraising, and the ongoing support of the community.

“The hospice is such a good community asset and the team are absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for inviting me and Lily.”

During his visit, the mayor met with nurses and fundraising staff to find out more about the services the hospice provides and the numbers of patients and families supported every week.

He has also pledged to support St Luke’s Hospice as his chosen charity during his time in office.

Rachel Hughes, fundraiser for St Luke’s, said: “Ernie is a long term friend and supporter of the hospice and is well known by staff and volunteers. He has done some incredible fundraising for us over the years and has been so generous in his kind and unwavering support.

“We are absolutely delighted to hear that he will support the hospice in his new role as town mayor of Winsford and we look forward to working with him. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome him and the Junior Mayor Lily to the hospice.”