SOAP star Julie Hesmondhalgh today insisted the homeless deserved a good Christmas - and vowed to raise £1,000 a week to help them.

Julie, patron of Accrington-based charity Maundy Relief, said she was ecstatic as the charity which helps the poor and homeless was adopted by the Dunkenhalgh Hotel, Clayton-le-Moors.

Maundy Relief, based in Abbey Street, has struggled to fund itself but Church-born Julie - who plays Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street - aims to raise £52,000 next year.

And the official launch of the hotel's new fitness centre on Monday night became a launch pad for a fundraising boost after staff made it their charity of the year.

Julie said she was thrilled and said the news was an early Christmas present and would provide more money to help feed, sleep and provide other basic needs for underprivileged people in Hyndburn.

The evening raised £700, which Julie said could be the start of a happy Christmas and would go towards feeding the 200 a day users of the charity, set up in 1999.

Julie added: "I am absolutely over the moon and I'm going to give my grand a week aim my all. Some argue we give to people who don't deserve it because they may be drug addicts or have given up, but we believe everyone deserves as many chances as it takes to get their life back on track."

Julie paid tribute to the manager of Maundy Relief, nun Dorothy McGregor. She said: "She is an absolute saint and now the hundreds of people she helps can be helped so much more.

"This is charity as it should be. No money is taken out of our donations, it goes straight to help. Dorothy says the new support we will now receive is the answer to our prayers and I think she is right and just in time for Christmas.

"The money will make Christmas better for some people who really have nothing. It is such a hard time of year when people are low they can feel incredibly lonely at Christmas. The number of visitors hits the roof.

Prizes for the raffle included a signed script from the Corrie cast - worth more than £2,000 - signed Blackburn Rovers shirts and footballs, as well as memberships for the newly refurbished fitness club.

Hotel sales manager Jamie Trickett said: "We often give to charity and wanted to find a local charity. In Maundy Relief we have found an excellent one to help all year, with some great events to come."