STAFF at a housebuilder with a development in Swindon baked cakes, washed cars and even climbed a mountain on their way to raising £20,237 for a children’s hospice.

Taylor Wimpey teams including employees at the Ambrose Gardens site chipped in to support the fundraising effort for Helen & Douglas House with a bake sale, a golf day and car wash held throughout 2019.

Assistant sales manager Lauren Murphy, technical coordinator Tom Slough and technical management trainee Anna Newman climbed Kilimanjaro in October.

Fighting both the physical and mental challenges of climbing 5,895m through blizzard conditions was a tough task for the whole team.

Lauren said: “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be and there were points where I was cold, soaking wet and exhausted when I thought about giving up. But my colleagues helped push me on and I just had to think why we were doing the climb.

“It was a massive help to remember what we were raising money for. There was a guy in our group who had lost both of his children. I just looked at him and thought of his experience and knew I couldn’t get upset about the climb.

“I’m not sure it’s something I’d ever do again but it was completely worth it because of the fantastic total that we raised. I’d like to thank everyone who sponsored the team, you helped make a huge difference to people’s lives.”

Plus, the team collected sponsorship from suppliers, agencies and Bucks UTC. This continued the developer's support of the hospice - it donated more than £11,000 in 2018 after staff completed a skydive.

Amy Bottali from Helen & Douglas House said: “We are so grateful for the amazing support from Taylor Wimpey. Not only have they raised an incredible amount which could fund one of our beds for over a month and a half, but they have also helped to raise our profile and in doing so helping us to reach more supporters.

“We have loved working with their staff. They are so engaging and caring, and without support like theirs we wouldn't be able to continue providing care and support to our children and their families. From all of us here at Helen & Douglas House, thank you.”

The Ambrose Gardens site is closing down in line with the company's national response to the coronavirus situation.