THE Guardian is joining forces with a Hastingwood hospice as their spectacular annual charity walk comes to the district for the first time.

The five-mile Starlight Walk, in aid of St Clare Hospice in Hastingwood, will take place on September 18, starting from Loughton Leisure Centre and taking a circular route through Buckhurst Hill.

Organisers hope to raise £50,000 and build on the success of the hospice’s annual Midnight Walk in Harlow, which this year attracted 1,400 entrants.

Between now and then the Guardian will be featuring the work of the hospice which cares for people throughout the district.

Hospice manager Giles Wright, said: “The second highest area in terms of referrals to us is Epping Forest.

“As a charity, we need to raise about £4,600 a day and we need to do that across the whole of west Essex.”

The hospice has provided daytime care for 74 patients from Epping Forest in the past three years, inpatient care for 179, and other support such as equipment and bereavement counselling to 170 families.

The money raised from the walk will go towards the everyday running of the hospice, which includes services such as outpatient therapy centres, social workers, and art and craft workshops, as well as eight beds for terminally-ill patients needing round-the-clock care.

The manager of the in-patient ward, Alison Kempthorne, said that it was a challenge to meet the demand for the hospice’s services.

“With the people we’re caring for, their situations can change very quickly and not always for the worse,” she said.

“The demand is very variable and reaching out to people is one of our priorities. A high proportion of people we care for have cancer, but there are people with a whole range of other diseases and illnesses that need support.”

Mr Wright added that the hospice was aiming to expand, as it needed more rooms, but was unlikely to see any more Government funding than the 26 per cent it currently receives.

The Starlight Walk is open to everyone over the age of 14 and people can register for the walk from noon on Friday (July 23) by visiting the hospice’s website, stclare-hospice.co.uk or calling 01279 773 750.