THE Mersey Gateway will bit lit up in purple this week to support Halton Haven Hospice's Forget Me Not week.

The bridge will turn purple from this evening until Friday to promote. the cancer charity.

Toll operator Merseyflow has teamed up with the hospice to help raise money and is encouraging other local businesses and individuals to join their efforts.

Halton Haven Hospice was chosen as Merseyflow’s nominated charity following a staff vote and employees are nnow working hard to raise money for the charity which provides palliative care to people across Halton.

Faye O’Neill, a fundraiser at the hospice, said: “It’s really nice to be associated with a local company, especially one that is involved with the landmark Mersey Gateway Bridge. The bridge brings the two communities that we serve together, which is a nice concept for us.

“Our goal is to provide the best quality of life for our patients and their families. Any help we can get from local businesses to do that is invaluable.”

Forget Me Not week, which runs from today until May 27, is an annual event the hospice runs to encourage local businesses to raise money for the charity.

“I know merseyflow staff already have a range of fundraising ideas to help us," said Faye. "We’re looking forward to see how we can support their fundraising efforts."

Anthony Alicastro, managing director of Merseyflow said the organisation was proud to support a charity that provided such a vital service to people.

He said: “We’re excited about our association with Halton Haven Hospice and will be doing our utmost during the next 12 months to help raise money for them and to get involved in local fundraising efforts.

“The team is passionate about helping the community and they already have lots of ideas in place. It will be a busy 12 months.”

The Merseyflow team is already raising funds.

Janet Cook, who works as a finance assistant at Merseyflow, completed the Liverpool Rock and Roll half-marathon in two hours 11 minutes, raising £190 for the charity.

Merseyflow matched the money raised meaning a total of £380 will be donated to the hospice.

The hospice provides free specialist care to people of Halton and the surrounding areas. It helps people and their families who are living with life-limiting illnesses.

The hospice relies on the help of local businesses and people to operate.

Visit haltonhaven.org.uk for more details.