DARLINGTON Building Society has started an initiative to help St Teresa's Hospice raise £500,000 for an extension to its home in Woodland Road, Darlington.

The society is backing the hospice's appeal to raise £500,000 to pay for an annexe, which is under construction and should be operational in May.

It is supporting the hospice's Half a Million Hugs campaign by sponsoring a further 10,000 home collection boxes.

The hope is that people will save their loose change in the boxes, which are available at Darlington Building Society branches in Sentinel House, Tubwell Row, and Cockerton, Darlington.

Once a box is full, people can return it to any of the society's branches or forward it directly to St Teresa's.

Peter Rowley, the building society's chief executive, said: "There is an old saying that 'if you take care of the pennies, the pounds take care of themselves' and this is what this campaign is all about.

"Darlington Building Society hopes, by making it so easy for people to make a donation, that St Teresa's will achieve its goal of raising half a million pounds."