Photographer's calendar raises £13k for hospice

A long-standing supporter of a hospice has raised £13,300 after he put his passion for photography to good use by producing a nature and wildlife calendar.

Phil Laybourne, whose wife Gail received palliative care at Maidenhead's Thames Hospice in 2020, created the calendar with a mixture of landscape and animal photos he took locally.

He also gave a series of talks about the images at events run by retirement living provider Pegasus Homes, which sponsored his work. It comes after an earlier calendar he produced in 2021 collected £10,000 for the hospice.

Steph Peters, the hospice's head of marketing and communications, said Laybourne's commitment to help the facility was "truly extraordinary".

"We are enormously grateful to Phil and everyone involved, whose support helps ensure that compassionate hospice care continues to be available to local families when they need it most," she said.

"We look forward to our continuing partnership and to seeing what his next project will bring."

Steve Bangs, chief executive of Pegasus Homes, said: "We're so incredibly proud of Phil's fantastic achievement in creating this wonderful calendar and using his passion for photography to raise such a significant amount of money for a cause close to his heart.

Laybourne, from Wooburn Green in Buckinghamshire, said he wanted to bring in "much-needed funds for an incredible organisation".