A CHILDREN'S hospice charity has received a huge £94,768 from Indian street food restaurant Mowgli at Cheshire Oaks.

Over the last two years, the popular Cheshire West branch has been asking diners to add a £1 donation to Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith on to their bill – and generous customers have certainly been willing.

Through the company’s charitable venture, The Mowgli Trust, the restaurant chain is able to support good causes in each community that they have a branch in.

At a recent staff meeting, General Manager, Ben Fitzsimmons spoke about why they chose the hospices.

He said: "We were approached by a lady recently as we were hosting a fundraising cake sale outside our restaurant.

Chester and District Standard: PICTURED: More of the team at Mowgli Cheshire Oaks with their total so far.PICTURED: More of the team at Mowgli Cheshire Oaks with their total so far. (Image: Hope House)

"She was quite emotional and told us how she had accessed the services the hospices provide and how grateful she was of them.

"This really brought it home to us how important they are locally.

"We’re very excited to have reached this wonderful amount for Hope House.

"By continuing to ask our customers to add just £1 to their bill, and our other fundraising activities within the team, we hope to support them even further in the future."

The Ellesmere Port branch opened in July 2021 and has proven very popular, with diners travelling from far and wide to try the famous Yoghurt Chat Bombs and Turmeric Chips.

Area fundraiser for Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith, Nicola Eyes said: "Since Mowgli opened at Cheshire Oaks, they have made me feel so welcome and have taken Hope House to their hearts.

"We are so grateful to Ben and his team for embracing and explaining the cause to customers when asked, taking on extra fundraising and generally being amazing.

"The simplicity of adding an optional £1 onto a customer’s bill makes a huge difference to us as a charity and is a business model that more businesses could adopt.

"Long may our partnership and friendship continue."

Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith children’s hospices in Conwy and Oswestry support more than 750 local families who are either caring for a terminally ill child, or whose child has died.

It costs £7.5 million every year to run their services and 80 per cent of this is spent on care.

Mowgli was founded in 2014 by British chef and TV presenter Nisha Katona who gave up a 20 year career as a barrister to follow her dream of opening restaurants that serve authentic Indian street food and home-style cooking.

Through their 18 branches, the Mowgli Trust has so far raised over £1,692,725 for good causes around the UK.

Further information about the Mowgli Trust and the causes it has helped is available at: mowglitrust.com/.