A 24-hour fundraising fish-a-thon by a man whose wife is being supported by Prospect Hospice has raised £600 for the Wroughton-based charity.

Andy Miller, 79, who lives in Swindon, decided to tackle the angling challenge as a way of showing his own thanks to the staff at Prospect Hospice, where is wife Norma visits each week to access the hospice’s day therapy services including physiotherapy and reiki.

A keen fisherman who has also previously worked on North Sea trawlers, Andy managed to land a remarkable 98 carp, ranging from 9lbs to 18lbs, over 24 hours from the banks of Flaxlands Lake, near Royal Wootton Bassett.

“I wanted to raise money for Prospect Hospice because they are so helpful to Norma when she visits them one day a week,” said Andy.

“I thought this would be a great way of showing my thanks for all the help that they have given her.”

Wife Norma added: “I’m so proud of him for what he’s done. I didn’t think that he would be able to raise so much but people really got behind him because they knew how much it meant to him.

"It was great too that he was able to do something that he has enjoyed for most of his life while raising funds for Prospect Hospice.

"We would both like to say a very big thank you to Ruth and Gordon at Flaxlands Fishery for all their help and also to everyone who sponsored Andy for their generosity.”

Louise Brooks, challenge events fundraiser at Prospect Hospice, said: “We are so grateful to Norma and Andy for their amazing and unusual fundraising challenge! We love it when our supporters take something that they love and turn it into a fundraising event, especially something as unique as a fish-a-thon!

"We really appreciate all their help, and the money that Norma and Andy have raised could pay for 10 patients to visit our Day Therapy Unit.”

The donation comes ahead of a special performance on Saturday night from a choir made up of staff and volunteers that only formed three months ago.

The concert – Singers and Saxes – is at the Ellendune Centre in Wroughton on Saturday and the choir will also be joined by the Delta West Saxophone Quartet for the first of a series of concerts the choir has lined up for the months ahead. The concert starts at 6.30pm

Choir member Sandra Knox is looking forward to being joined by members of the local community for the Prospect Singers' first performance.

“For some of the Prospect Singers, this will be the first time that they will have sung in public,” she says.

“I know, though, that the patients at the hospice who have heard us rehearse have said they’ve thought we’re ready, and I think we are too.”

The Prospect Singers will also be performing at the hospice’s Garden Fete on Saturday, September 9.

Sandra said: “We are also looking for more people who would be interested in joining the Prospect Singers.

"They don’t need to be experienced singers and they don’t have to have a connection with Prospect Hospice, but can contact me via info@prospect-hospice.net."