MORE than £16,000 has been raised through a garden centre's charity scheme in the last two years for a cause which provides support to bereaved families.

Bents Garden and Home, in Glazebury near Leigh, made Once Upon a Smile its charity of the year in 2019 but extended it for another 12 months due to the pandemic.

And the centre has now revealed that people have pulled together to amass £16,477 for the Manchester-based cause.

Managing director Matthew Bent said: “The decision to continue supporting Once Upon a Smile for a second year proved to be a very popular one.

"Despite the challenges faced by the Covid crisis fundraising continued and everyone at Bents is delighted with the final total.

"Our customers have been hugely generous in helping us to raise such a fantastic amount, especially when there are so many other causes to consider during these difficult times.”

The money raised by Bents will help fund improvements and activities at Once Upon a Smile’s Sidley House, the charity’s specialist bereavement hub, and also support the team as they continue to reach out and support children in their own homes.

Solving Kids Cancer is Bents' charity of the year for 2021.

The charity, which focusses on childhood cancer neuroblastoma, is a cause very close to the hearts of everyone at Bents, following the loss of the company’s financial director’s great niece, six-year-old Jossie Leaver who bravely battled with neuroblastoma.

Jossie was one of around 100 children who each year are diagnosed with this rare, aggressive and often deadly, childhood cancer, most of whom are under the age of five.

Solving Kids Cancer fights for a future where no child dies of neuroblastoma or suffers from its treatment.