SYKES Holiday Cottages have raised more than £15,000 for charity after employees abseiled down the side of their headquarters at One City Place in Chester.

Around 60 colleagues took part in the 98ft descent at the holiday let agency’s offices last week, taking on the challenge to raise money for its local charity partner, Hospice of the Good Shepherd.

The Chester-based business has pledged to match the final fundraising total at the end of this year for Hospice of the Good Shepherd, with colleagues already taking part in various other fundraisers and bake sales so far this year.

Working closely with other health care professionals, Hospice of the Good Shepherd provide quality specialist palliative and end of life care for people, relatives, and carers in both West Cheshire and Deeside.

Graham Donoghue, CEO at Sykes Holiday Cottages, said: "Abseiling down the side of our office was far from a normal day at work for the Sykes team last week, but it was all worth it for this incredible cause.

"The team’s efforts in raising these funds really showed the spirit and determination of our colleagues and we’ve got a variety of other events lined up throughout the year to grow our fundraising total."

Alan Knell at Hospice of the Good Shepherd, said: "At the Hospice of the Good Shepherd the needs of our patients, their families, and their carers always come first and are at the heart of everything we do.

"We’re very grateful to the Sykes team who put their fears to one side for the day to take on this abseil and the money raised will make a huge difference to the people we support."