PEOPLE who want to lend their support to the St Leonard's Hospice 2000 Appeal are being urged to become stamp collectors.

Royal Mail is issuing a new first class stamp on Tuesday 1 which features a bright yellow sunflower - the symbol of the Hospice Movement.

St Leonard's Hospice is asking everyone to save all their used sunflower stamps so they can be collected and used in a huge collage next year when its new annexe opens.

Janet Morley, fundraising manager for St Leonard's Hospice, said: "These new stamps are wonderfully colourful, with a perfect sunflower against a blue sky.

"We want to collect as many as we can to make a giant sunflower collage in time for the opening of our new annexe at the hospice at the end of next year - the subject of our £2 million Millennium Appeal."

She said: "From the beginning of August, we want everyone to save their sunflower stamps and then send them to the Hospice's fundraising centre.

"Hundreds of thousands should be in the post, so let's see just how many we can collect."

The aim of the St Leonard's Hospice Appeal 2000 is to raise £2 million so that the hospice can be redeveloped and its services extended to care for more people.

Used sunflower stamps should be sent to St Leonard's Hospice Fundraising Centre, 14 York Road, Acomb, York, YO24 4LU.