MALVERN mayor Cynthia Palmer has beaten her target of raising £5,000 for the Acorns Children's Hospice during her year in office.

And taking her over the funding finishing line was her Rent-the-Mayor campaign which saw her popping up at all sorts of shops and businesses across the town during the month of March.

The campaign concluded on Friday, when she read stories to the children of Little Oaks Nursery in Maple Road, as well as telling them what it is like to be mayor.

The day before, she was at the Malvern branch of Santander in Worcester Road, and the previous Sunday she joined worshippers at the Lansdowne Crescent Methodist Church.

This followed earlier appearances at Barnards Green Post Office, DELIcious in Malvern, and Costa Coffee, Waitrose, the Malvern Book Co-operative and the Foley Arms Hotel in the town centre.

Coun Palmer said: “I have really enjoyed volunteering across Malvern, meeting so many kind people and being able to collect as much as I possibly could for Acorns.

“I’ve visited Acorns in Worcester before and seen first-hand the vital work it does for children and families. It is such a special place and I’m thrilled that I have been able to raise so much for my charity of the year.”

The campaign raised £887.16, making her total raised so far £5,604. Previous fundraising events included the Mayor's Bonanza in Priory Park last summer, which attracted hundreds of local people and raised £1,900 towards the target.

Mandie Fitzgerald, community fundraising manager at Acorns, said: “It’s great that the mayor has given up so much of her time to volunteer and to help raise funds to provide vital care for the children and families that use Acorns.

“Rent-the-Mayor has been a fantastic campaign and we’re thrilled that businesses right across Malvern and the local community both gave it such wonderful support.”