Two hospices say they are “thrilled to bits” after Redbridge’s outgoing mayor raised thousands of pounds for them during her year in office.

St Francis Hospice and Haven House Hospice, both serving North London and Essex, were chosen by outgoing Redbridge mayor Cllr Linda Huggett as her mayoral charities during her time in office.

From June 2017 until their latest Arabian nights event on Saturday May 19, which raised £8,000 on its own, the outgoing mayor’s committee has supported the hospices with fundraising efforts.

Cllr Huggett announced she and her team had raised 78,000 for the two charities, working out at around £39,000 each.

The outgoing mayor says more recent fundraising efforts are expected to raise that total to £80,000 in the coming months.

Since Cllr Huggett’s involvement, the two charities have begun to work more closely together and are now providing joined up services as well as fundraising together.

Anne Brown, from St Francis Hospice, served on Cllr Huggett’s mayoral committee. She said: “We’re all a little bit in awe of Cllr Huggett and thrilled to bits."

“She has been an exemplary, exceptional and tireless mayor. She led from the front in a way that goes far beyond the realms of party politics.”

She added: “What a year, it’s been incredible. It’s been awesome."

Mike Palfreman, chief executive of Haven House, said: “We are so grateful to Cllr Linda Huggett for raising an incredible amount of funds for our hospice through the Mayor’s Appeal.

“The commitment and energy she and the people of Redbridge have shown towards us over the past year has been phenomenal and means we will be able to support more local life-limited children and their families through our Hospice at Home service.”