A CHILDREN'S hospice is £600 richer thanks to the generosity of council staff in Hambleton.

Hambleton District Council collected the cash for the Butterwick Children's Hospice in the run-up to Christmas.

Officers and councillors were asked to buy baubles for a Christmas friendship tree, placed in the Civic Centre in Northallerton.

In all, 365 were sold - one for every day of the year.

The Teesside-based hospice provides care and support for families and children from birth to 19 years of age with life-limiting illnesses - but needs to raise £800,000 every year to maintain its services.

The Friendship Tree was sponsored by Room For Design, in Northallerton; Barkers, in Northallerton; Falcon Press, of Stockton; DTW of Guisborough; Joe Cornish Galleries, of Northallerton; Kall Kwik of Middlesbrough; Service Point, of Middlesbrough; and Strikes, of Northallerton.