HOSPICES all over the country bring comfort and hope to thousands of people when they need it most.

Here in Darlington, St Teresa's Hospice does a wonderful job and many local families have had good cause to be grateful for the care and dedication of its staff.

But hospices cannot exist without the support of the communities they serve - it is a partnership of care. We have to care about our local hospice if it is to care for our loved ones.

The running costs of St Teresa's are more than £1,000 a day and fundraising is a non-stop challenge.

More than £10,000 was raised on Saturday night at the fifth annual ball,with local businesses turning out in force to support a hugely entertaining evening at The Beehive Ballroom, at Lingfield Point.

The ballroom was tranformed into a Speakeasy for the night, as a gangster theme was hatched to persuade people to part with their money in a fun way.

Our congratulations go to the special events team of Jane Bradshaw, Christine Wilson, Tricia Hennessy, Viv Scott, Joyce Wynn Williams, Lynne Smith and Linda Smith for organising a memorable night.

And our thanks go to everyone involved in the running of St Teresa's for everything they do.

The fifth annual hospice ball in Darlington was a night to remember - but it was just one night.

St Teresa's needs the money to flow every day.

IN the end, all the optimism about Darlington's Britain in Bloom entry was misplaced.

The town, having won the regional award, missed out to Bath for the national title of Best Small City.

It is hard to know what more the town can do, and the spirits of the gardeners who put in so much effort must have wilted with disappointment.

Their consolation should be that they did the town proud. Visitors and residents were saying how great Darlington looked through the summer - and each favourable comment was an award in itself.