THE man who will spearhead the £1.3 million appeal is 61-year-old magistrate Geoff Braithwaite.

Mr Braithwaite, chairman of the East Lancashire Hospice Fund, is secretary of Clitheroe Lions and a JP on the Reedley bench. He is also clerk to the parish meeting in Downham and president of the village hall committee.

A gear cutter by trade, Mr Braithwaite, who lives in Downham, worked at Rolls Royce in Barnoldswick for 30 years. He was also a town councillor in Barnoldswick in 1967/68.

He said: "The hospice is bursting at the seams and nurses cannot do what they want to do for each individual person.

"We need the extra space for people. We are prepared to work hard to raise the money."

He will receive vital support from fund treasurer Rod Macaulay, of Blackburn, and secretary Rachel Pallister, of Bolton-by-Bowland.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.