A NORTH-EAST children’s hospice released balloons into the sky to mark its fifth anniversary.

Zoe’s Place, in Middlesbrough, invited families and their friends to enjoy a party on Saturday.

Mark Guidery, chief executive of Zoe’s Place, said: “It was a great day. We didn’t want to go over the top as people give money for the care, not to fund big parties, however, it was important to mark the occasion.

“Everyone really enjoyed themselves and it is fantastic to reach this milestone. The children had a great time releasing the balloons “We are funded by people in the community, not by organisations.

“We have quite a big team of help and although it is scary in the current economic climate, we are concentrating on keeping going. We just hope people will continue to donate.”

The centre was founded in 2004 after a group of people identified that families of children with life limiting or life-threatening conditions were in desperate need of specialist help.