A lack of volunteers is forcing St Luke's Hospice to close some of its shops on their busiest days, resulting in a loss in sales of up to £8,000 a month for the charity.

Shops in Alsager, Sandbach and Crewe have had to close on certain days of the week in recent months, including Saturday, as they simply do not have sufficient volunteer numbers to open.

The hospice is now urgently appealing for people willing to give up a few hours a week to volunteer in their nine shops and warehouse.

Steven Holmes, St Luke's Retail Operations Manager said, "Every hour spent assisting in our shops directly translates into comfort, support, and care provided to our Hospice patients and their families.

"Our shops play a vital role in generating funds to support and sustain our hospice services. Sadly, we are currently losing around £8,000 a month in potential sales due to us being forced to close some shops on certain days of the week.

"This is devastating as this amount is enough to fund the hospice for a whole day! This includes all our services from the Inpatient Unit to Day Hospice, family support and counselling.

"With an increasing demand for our services, we are in urgent need of additional retail volunteers who can help us make a difference and continue to be a vital part of the community.

"If you have some time to spare and would like to support the hospice then please get in touch, we would be so very grateful."

St Luke's is looking for volunteers to be able to commit to around four hours a week on a regular basis.

To find out more about how to become a Volunteer, please contact Adelle Gillet at [email protected] or call 01606 551246.