A VERY special visitor has brought a very welcome seasonal present for our Hospice 2000 Appeal - as Father Christmas himself revealed that the total has now reached £1.6 million.

Santa arrived in York a few days early to reveal the latest addition to the petalometer outside St Leonard's Hospice, in Tadcaster Road.

Hospice fundraising manager Janet Morley said: "It's a lovely Christmas present. Alongside everyone's very hard work, there have been two major factors helping us towards this next milestone.

"There was bank interest received on the appeal fund, and then this week we were very pleased to receive a donation of £10,000 from the Leeds Hospital Fund to provide the furnishings and equipment for one of the new single in-patient bedrooms.

"We want to say thank you to them and to everyone who has made a donation, large or small."