Those looking for a creative way to keep the memory of a loved one alive this festive season are invited to take part in a charity’s Light up a Life Appeal.

Run by Saint Francis Hospice, which is due to open a store in Wanstead High Street next month, the appeal offers people the chance to dedicate a star with a special message to someone they have lost in return for a donation.

Every star received will be displayed in the charity’s gardens for the whole of December until Twelfth Night on January 5.

The appeal seeks to raise up to £8 million to cover the cost of providing specialist end-of-life care and support services to the community.

This year, Amanda Green, whose beloved mum Salli Bennett was cared for in the hospice’s inpatient unit before she died in 2016, is fronting the appeal and sharing her family’s experience.

“The care she received from everyone there was just astonishing,” said Mrs Green.

“Like many people, I had no idea what ‘hospice’ really meant. Now, I wonder how any family could possibly do without them.”

Light up a Life events where people can gather together to think of those special people who are no longer with them will be held in December

One such event will take place at Brentwood Cathedral on Sunday, December 16 at 4pm.

Ms Green attended last year’s event along with her father Howard Bennett and their family, and found it “uplifting.”

She added: “We started the event feeling sad for mum – but the service was so positive and uplifting that we all left with a smile, remembering all the wonderful years we had with her.

“It really helped us that we could show mum that we were thinking of her by being there and by dedicating a star and we’ll all be there again this year.”

Tickets for the event are free and are issued on a first come first served basis. To book, visit www.sfh.org.uk.

Palliative care consultant Dr Mark Howard said: “The clinical team here at the hospice is very aware that we can only continue to support people in our community at the most vulnerable time in their lives if our community continues to support us.”