A mum whose dedicated efforts after the death of her young son led to the building of a new children's hospice in the Royal Borough has warned that the charity is under threat.

Windsor couple John and Fiona Devine set up their charity the Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service after the tragic death of their son Alexander.

Its crowning achievement has been the building of the new £7million children's hospice at Woodlands Park, Maidenhead in 2018, whose opening was attended by then PM Theresa May and the charity's patron Sir Michael Parkinson.

Now in an open letter published today (Friday) Mrs Devine says: "The stark reality is that our children’s hospice service is under threat.

"96 per cent of what we need to run our service comes from fundraising and donations. It is clear that with most of our fundraising activities for the coming months cancelled that it will be enormously difficult for us to raise the money to fund our service. We estimate a loss of over £400,000 in the next three months."

The charity's work over the years has extended far beyond the new hospice. It has provided support to many families with sick children in their homes through its team of nurses.

Mrs Devine addresses the Royal Borough community in her letter, saying: "I didn’t build Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service alone, it was built by you, our wonderful and generous community as a legacy to our extraordinary son.

"Whilst we are grateful for any donation, what we need most of all is a sustainable income so please consider a pledge of a regular gift; a monthly donation that will help us as we plan for the future of our children’s hospice service."

The charity has had to close its day care sessions including the hydrotherapy pool to minimise risk during the current crisis and is now focussing on supporting families in their homes and the children in the hospice.

Today marks the 13th anniversary of the setting up of the Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service charity.