THE new £6m St Catherine's Hospice at Scarborough reached its financial appeal target this week - just days before it takes in its first patients.

Mandy Mellor, director of fundraising, who has master-minded the £2m public appeal, said: "We are all delighted. The public response has been wonderful."

Almost every community in the Scarborough, Whitby, Ryedale, Driffield and Bridlington area, which will benefit from the new 20-bed complex, has raised funds from humble coffee mornings and gruelling sponsored walks covering scores of miles, to big fundraising balls and concerts.

Staff move into the new hospice, off Throxenby Lane, from the existing premises in Scalby Road, Scarborough, at the end of the month and the first patients will be moved in during the first week of May, said Mrs Mellor.

Built by Malton development company Harrison, the hospice will have more facilities than the old quarters, including overnight accommodation for visitors, day care and a variety of activities, improved out-patient clinical and physiotherapy facilities, quiet rooms and a multi-faith chapel. There will also be bereavement support and community specialist nurses, said Mrs Mellor.

"The hospice will increase the size of our accommodation and the quality of our facilities, enabling us to meet the challenge of caring for the terminally ill for many years to come," she said.

The new hospice has been built on the site of the 250-year-old High Farm, Throxenby, on an elevated site.

One of the most successful fundraising initiatives was to "sell" memorial bricks to friends and relatives at £40 each. They have been laid in the impressive courtyard at the hospice. In addition, all names of loved ones have been entered on a roll of honour, said Mrs Mellor.

The balance of the cost of the scheme came from the hospice's reserves and the sale of its Scalby Road premises, which were opened in 1985 by the late Princess Margaret.

A high-profile official opening is planned for the new hospice at a later date.

Updated: 10:51 Wednesday, April 21, 2004