FUNDING to create a garden for the Queen Margaret Hospice has broken through the £40,000 barrier.

A steady stream of public donations in response to the Press campaign has helped achieve this landmark.

Just a month ago, the total funds sat at £32,500 but many West Fifers have been touched by the chance to brighten up the final days of terminally-ill people and have donated to the cause, following our front-page appeal for cash.

The dream of the Queen Margaret Hospice Garden Group is to provide a tranquil garden with enough space for bed and wheelchair access to improve the quality of life for West Fifers reaching the end of their lives to help them spend precious time with their family.

Anne Morton, chair of the group, said: "We’re delighted with the response to our public campaign which has come in via direct donations and through our Go Fund Me campaign.

"However, we still need more grant funding and public donations to reach our baseline target of £47,500."

Boosted by the support of Press readers since we joined the cause and with the target now in sight, the group has reached an agreement with NHS managers to take the necessary steps to get work started in August.

Anne added: "International Hospice Day is on October 13. Wouldn't it be fabulous if we could have an official opening on that day?"

"Showing your support by joining our group (it's free!) is one way you can help us go further, donating is another, and signing up to be part of our garden maintenance team is yet another."

Fundraising is not without its challenges and the garden group noticed after launching their crowd funding page that GoFundMe were automatically adding a 10 per cent "discretionary" charge to all attempted donations and they fear this may have put some people off.

But they have been encouraged by the public's willingness to organise their own fundraising challenges, just like Katerina Timofeeva, who as the Press reported last month, ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon for the cause.

The group’s Neale Hanvey said: “Anyone who wishes to donate via GoFundMe can set the discretionary charge to any amount they wish, including zero.

"However, it’s very frustrating that this was not clear to us before launching this part of the campaign, and we apologise to anyone who has been affected by this. If anyone wants to donate to the group they can still use the campaign page or contact us directly or via our Facebook page to help us close the final gap.”

The group can be contacted at Queen Margaret Hospice Garden's Facebook page or you can email Anne directly via annemorton01@btinternet.com.