BISHOPS Lydeard man John Yandell has won his funeral in a competition.

John scooped a £1,350 Golden Charter funeral plan in a contest run by Quantock Funeral Services.

It created a virtual Easter garden, with the plan the prize in an initiative that raised £601 for the Children's Hospice South West.

John's name was drawn out of the hat by CHSW community fundraiser Laura Robertson, who said: "We'd like to say a huge thank you to the team at Quantock Funeral Services for their continued support of CHSW.

"Every year we need to raise £9.8 million to run our three hospices in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, providing care and respite for more than 500 children with life-limiting conditions and their families."

Corrinne Foster, director of Quantock Funeral Services, said: "Matt (her husband) and I have a very young family and even though we have had a great deal of experience dealing with families that have lost children, we couldn’t begin to imagine what we as a family would do if something like this was to effect us.

"That's why hospices such as the CHSW are invaluable to the local community and that's why its very important to raise the awareness of these fantastic facilities and the truly committed staff that work in them.

"We will continue to support the CHSW and we will continue on our promise to help families going through the worst possible time a family has to face by ensuring all our funerals services for a child are completely free."

The competition also saw Mia Langford (pictured below) win a huge Easter bunny from a raffle organised in Bishops Lydeard.

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