Just five days after he lost his mother 19-year-old Harvey McSloy decided to set up a fund in her name – now little more than a year later it has raised more than £20,000.

His mother, Maria, 49, died on July 13 last year at St Elizabeth Hospice after her cancer of the abdomen spread.

But the now 20-year-old, from The Crescent, Stowmarket, has, with the help of his family, raised thousands of pounds – with the aim to double the amount made in the first year.

He said: “We saw how the hospital gave the care that they did and so we did a few fundraising events for Woolverstone Wish at Ipswich Hospital. When we were doing that we thought we should set up a charity which we could then use to buy equipment and facilities the hospices would need.

“I was not expecting this sort of success at all, it’s been absolutely brilliant to do something for the local hospice and give a lot back.

“It’s been a challenge – I have been getting home from work and then working on it until 11pm at night; there was a lot of work when the charity was registered but it’s worth it when you get the results.”

The charity is run by five trustees and a band of volunteers, mostly Mrs McSloy’s direct family, with every penny raised going to good causes. A 24-hour pool tournament at The Gladstone Arms in Combs Ford – the group’s first event – had around 200 people involved.

Since money was raised for the Woolverstone Wish appeal before her death, funds are now going to St Elizabeth Hospice, St Nicholas Hospice and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.

Mrs McSloy was well-known in the town and had worked as a cook at The Magpie Inn for 15 years.

To find out more go to www.trustmaria.org.uk.