SUPPORTERS of St Michael's Hospice have helped the charity win £12,000 towards putting solar panels on the hospice's roof.

St Michael’s beat five other projects to win top prize in the funding from the M&S Energy Community Energy Fund.

The hospice attracted 721 public votes during a six-week long campaign after it was shortlisted for the national renewable community energy competition in July.

Using solar energy will help reduce the hospice’s overall running costs, making it more financially sustainable now and into the future.

The winnings will be used to part-fund the installation of 107 solar panels on the hospice's roof.

The solar panels will provide enough energy to power the hospice and charge their electric vehicles, which will save 14tonnes (tCo2E) carbon dioxide emissions.

Mike Keel, the St Michael’s Hospice’s chief executive, said: “It’s been exciting to see the volume of interest in our M&S Community Energy Fund project.

"Our supporters explored every avenue to share our campaign video and spread the word. It was a real community effort and we’d like to thank everyone who voted. This project demonstrates our ambition to be cost-effective and ensure St Michael's is here in the future for everyone who needs us.”