BLUNSDON Market's manager presented a cheque for a whopping £10,000 to Prospect Hospice.

Maurice Mapson has fundraised just under £60,000 for the charity over the years.

Most of the money has come from Maurice's generous customers, who bought items at his stall that sells leftovers from the market's thrice-weekly car boot sales.

He's had the stall for several years.

The £10,000 lump sum he donated to Prospect when he visited them in December - his biggest donation to date - was raised in just one year.

Maurice said: "I am delighted that we have been able to raise our first five-figure sum this year.

"It’s always great to be able to come to Prospect Hospice and hand over what we’ve raised, because when you're here, you see what you’ve been raising the money for throughout the year.

"The fantastic thing is that this money has been raised mostly by selling things that would otherwise have been thrown away.

"This way it doesn’t just raise money for a great cause, but it also recycles things for others to enjoy."

Maurice is keen to credit the stallholders at the market for their part in raising the money. He added: "They’re brilliant.

"It’s not an easy life being a market stall holder, and we have seen many move on in the last few years.

"However, they’ve really worked hard to raise this money for Prospect Hospice and I think we can all be very proud of what we’ve achieved together."

Genevieve Arney, Community and Events Manager at Prospect Hospice, expressed her gratitude for Maurice and Blunsdon Market’s support.

She said: "Maurice is an incredible supporter of Prospect Hospice and we are hugely grateful for all that he does to raise funds for us.

"This year he has even outstripped the achievements of previous years and our thanks go out to him and all the traders at the market.

"What they have raised will make a real difference for the patients and families we support.

"On their behalf, we would like to wish Maurice and everyone at Blunsdon Market a merry Christmas and a happy and successful 2018."

Since 1980, Prospect Hospice has been providing the only dedicated end-of-life care service for the 300,000 people living in the local community.

Staff work tirelessly at the hospice's 16-bed in-patient unit, its day hospice, and at the homes of certain patients to ensure that they are always comfortable and cared for arond the clock.

Last year, it cost more than £8 million for Prospect to provide its services to patients and families.