MOSQUES in Bolton have raised close to £3,000 for Bolton Hospice.

Collections held at the Taiyabah Mosque, Usman Mosque and Al-Falah Mosque raised a total of £2,811 for the Chorley New Road hospice.

The collections were organised by Metro cars worker Siraj Patel, with help from Muntazir Dipoti.

Siraj, was made aware of the work of the hospice when driving both patients and visiting family members to the hospice.

He was unaware that the hospice had to raise £3.2 million per year as an independent charity with only a fraction of funding from NHS.

The participating mosques wanted to give something back to the hospice which has cared for many members of the Muslim community across Bolton.

Stephanie Lacaille, Giving Manager at the hospice said: “We’d like to thank Siraj for helping to organise these local mosque collections, as well as the mosques themselves for agreeing to collect for their local hospice which cares for all people across the Bolton borough.

“Their donation will help local people, with life limiting illnesses, be cared for at the hospice or at home through our Hospice at Home nursing service”.