CHILDREN at a Wharfedale pre-school have helped a local hospice celebrate Christmas - by creating a handprint tree.

Staff at Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice realised they couldn’t have an actual Christmas tree in the inpatient unit this year due to the infection control measures that are in place.

So they approached Pool Pre-School Group, at Pool-in-Wharfedale, to see if they could help: and were delighted with the response.

The children enjoyed making lots of green handprints, which were then laminated to make them wipeable, for a ‘2D tree’.

Patients and staff at Manorlands then made baubles to decorate the tree, which has proved a hit.

Pool Pre-School Manager Vikky Campbell said: “Our children loved making handprints and we felt very privileged to be able to help out.”

Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice is based in Oxenhope, near Keighley.

Working across Airedale, Wharfedale, Craven and Bradford it provides expert palliative care while supporting people with life-limiting conditions and their families. The hospice’s team includes doctors, Sue Ryder Nurses, care assistants, physiotherapists, and occupational and complementary therapists.