FESTIVAL goers have ensured the new children's hospice in Devizes can rock on by helping to raise £10,000 for Julia's House.

Lucy Babb and Rob Challice from the Larmer Tree Festival visited the site of the hospice to hand over the money and see for themselves where the cash will be going.

Larmer Tree director Mr Challice, who also did his personal bit for the charity by taking part in a sponsored cycle ride earlier in the year, was delighted with the total.

He said: "It’s the second year we’ve been working with the charity, who support children with life limiting illnesses and their families in Wiltshire and Dorset, to raise essential funds. We want to say a massive thank you to all the festival goers for all their help. We couldn’t have done it without them."

The Larmer Tree Festival was held in July on an estate in the Cranborne Chase, near Salisbury and had five stages and more than 80 acts performing over three days.

The festival originally joined forces with Julia's House as an official parter charity last year to mark its 25th anniversary.

Mr Challice said: "Throughout the year people were voluntarily donating when they bought 2016 tickets, which made up over half of the money raised."

Mr Challice's ride in March raised £3,000 and jazz singer Jamie Cullum, who grew up in Wiltshire, did a meet and greet competition where people donated to enter. The festival team got involved with smaller events, such as selling waistcoats for Julia’s House at the Sixpenny Handley Waistcoat Festival and organising raffles, which helped tot up those totals before the festival.

At the festival itself volunteers from the charity created a popular, colourful area on the Family Lawns, where they ran sensory play sessions, fun family games and hair garland making workshops. They also joined the carnival on the Sunday with collection buckets.

Community fundraising manager for Julia’s House, Jacqui Greenhaf, said “It was an absolute pleasure to work with the festival team and to be part of such an amazing event.

“This money will make a real difference to the families we help, families struggling to cope with the round-the-clock demands of caring for a very sick child.

"With just five per cent government funding we rely on the support of events like this to be able to provide a lifeline for local families.”

Work in Devizes is progressing well and the hospice is on target to open next year but already the charity is helping a growing number of families from Wiltshire by offering help of carers and nurses in people's homes.

The Gazette has pledged to raise £100,000 in 2016 as part of our 200th anniversary celebrations.