RESIDENTS in Newton Aycliffe are being urged to turn waste paper into cash to support the work of a hospice.

A waste paper skip has been placed in the town's Southerne Club car park - and the more paper that is dumped, the more cash will be raised for the Butterwick Hospice at Bishop Auckland.

The skip was officially opened by hospice mascot Spike the Hedgehog, assisted by Butterwick fundraiser Beryl Anderson and volunteer Bernard Harrison.

They were joined by children from Newton Aycliffe schools, who became the first to place paper in the skip.

The old newspapers and discarded magazines will be collected by British Plasterboard for recycling. The hospice gets a percentage of the tonnage.

Other skips in Frosterley, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland have proved lucrative for the hospice, raising thousands of pounds.

The hospice is also raising money through the recycling of aluminium cans, stamps and cardboard.

The hospice currently cares for up to 43 patients per week, who are brought in via the hospice ambulance or courier from throughout the area