Thoughtful family have come up with a cracking way to raise money for Ardgowan Hospice

Cameron Wylie, pictured, and his mum Jane, are on a mission to raise £500 a year for the hospice by selling eggs laid by the six hens they keep in their back garden.

Their idea was inspired by Jane's father Angus McEachran, 70, who passed away from a brain tumour five years ago.

Jane, 48, from Woodlark Grove in Inverkip, said the hospice staff provided amazing support to her dad while he was cared for at home, as well as bereavement services.

To show their gratitude, Jane and Cameron wanted to give something back to the hospice, which has also provided inpatient support for other family members.

Cameron, 17, said: "I always wanted to try to help out the hospice and this is a really good way of doing it.

"It's easy because we already look after the hens and it makes sense to sell the eggs on for the hospice as it gives them a wee bit of extra money that they can use to help other people."

Jane added: "Losing my dad was very difficult and I still miss him.

"He was a character and always the life and soul of a party.

"It’s hard not to just pick up the phone and have a chat.

"The support from the hospice was amazing and I am glad we can do our bit to help them now in memory of dad."

Jane, a health professional, says the hens are part of the family and live in a special hen house after they were saved from slaughter.

She said: "There are six of them and they lay one egg each every day.

"As it was the fifth anniversary of my dad's death, we were wondering what we could do to raise money for the hospice and that's how we came up with the idea."

Eggs laid from the hens - Chicki Minaj, Yoko Ono, Lindsay Lohen, Treacle, The Colonel and Eggstacy - are put into special boxes with the Ardgowan Hospice logo and are sold for a minimum donation of £2.

Cameron, who is studying cyber security at college, gives up his time to deliver the eggs to people's doorsteps.

Jane added: "The eggs are really tasty, you can taste the difference.

"When Cameron delivers them people often kindly give him money for petrol."

Jane says her dad Angus, who was a policeman from Gourock, would love the idea of the eggs.

She said: "He was a cheeky chap and quite well known as he was a policeman.

"My dad was a character."

Cameron added: "He was always funny and loved to talk."

Elaine McNeill from the fundraising team at Ardgowan, said: "This is an innovative way to literally build a ‘nest egg’ for the hospice.

"The money will all add up over the summer and allow us to offer services to more people in Inverclyde.

"For £150 we can give a child or young person the coping skills needed to manage their grief after the loss of a family member – this would provide a programme of one to one sessions with our child and family support service.

"This means the egg sales are going to make a real difference."