ARTISTS have been displaying their work at Upton House as part of an exhibition to raise funds for Poole’s Lewis-Manning Hospice.

The exhibition, called A Breath of Fresh Air, was opened by Poole Mayor Cllr Phil Eades at The Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country House, and ended yesterday.

It featured sculpture and paintings by local artists, and celebrated anything to do with breath, life, air, flow and movement, said organisers Sarah Kelly and Margaret Hasted.

Sarah, pictured inset, said: “We had an excellent response from artists and were really delighted that we managed to hang all the paintings submitted.

“The exhibition looked really good and the standard was very high, with many exhibits sold.

Lewis-Manning Hospice, at Crichel Mount Road, Lilliput, Poole, supports more than 650 people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.

But the hospice relies heavily on donations, legacies and fundraising activities to help it keep going.

Only around 20 per cent of Lewis-Manning’s funding comes through the NHS, leaving £65,000 to be raised every month through hospice shops and other fundraising activities.

The hospice moved to its new site in 2012, where a new state-of-the-art building has 15 en suite bedrooms on the ground floor, offering respite, rehabilitation and end of life care.