AN EAST Lancashire Hospice hopes to raise £10,000 from this year's Mini Raffle.

Pendleside Hospice is one of three hospices in the area to benefit from a Mini Cooper raffle which will be drawn in August.

East Lancashire Hospice and Rossendale Hospice are also selling tickets to raise their own funds.

Each month one of the hospices takes responsibility for a promotion car to help with the campaign and the money raised goes directly to the hospice which raised those funds, rather than being split three ways.

Now the fundraising team at Pendleside has decided to take the car on a tour around the coastline of mainland UK.

The prize car has been donated by Musbury Fabrics, supported by its two main outlets, Barden Mill at Burnley and Oswaldtwistle Mill in Hyndburn. Martin Vernon, assistant manager at Barden Mill, came up with the idea.

Martin, 22, and his pal Mick Crewe, 21, will next month drive the Mini Cooper from Burnley to Ullapool, then Inverness, Dundee, Newcastle, Hull, Boston, Dover, Southampton, Torquay, Barnstaple, Bristol, Fishguard and Bangor, before returning to Burnley.

In addition to selling raffle tickets the pair is inviting local businesses to headline each leg of the journey for a basic cost of £250 plus VAT.

The 3,500-mile adventure will start on Sunday, June 13, and it is hoped to be completed on Sunday, June 27.

Anyone willing to sponsor a day should ring fundraising head John Binks on 01282 440128.