Select Car Leasing has celebrated five years in partnership with Sue Ryder charity by donating three brand new Skoda Octavia Hatchback cars to two hospices.

The local south Oxfordshire Palliative Care Hub in Nettlebed and Duchess of Kent Hospice in Reading will receive the three vehicles.

The UK car leasing company has been supplying Sue Ryder with cars since 2014, and now it will send three new models for staff usage at both hospices.

Mark Tongue, company director at Select, said: “We’re really delighted to be working with Sue Ryder for the fifth-year running and to donate three cars to assist both the South Oxfordshire Palliative Care Hub and Duchess of Kent Hospice in their incredible day-to-day work.

“It’s fantastic to be in a position where we can give something back and it’s an enormous source of pride for both James and myself to put our names against such an important cause.

“Everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer in one way or another and it’s a charity which remains close to all our hearts.

“We are happy to further cement our partnership and are committed to working alongside Sue Ryder for many years to come.”

Incoming vehicles will help form a part of Sue Ryder’s daily support activities and will help staff switch between locations, as well as provide accessibility for fundraising, visits, out-patient care and other events.

Company directors Mark Tongue and James O’Malley (Select) joined Jenny Westmoreland and Fern Haynes from Sue Ryder to hand the keys to the car over, giving them the three new Skoda’s until 2021.

Each car has warranty, road tax and full servicing, and has the hospice logos branded on the vehicle to help raise awareness for those that see them on their journeys.

Ashleigh Embling, community fundraising officer at Sue Ryder, said: “Every four and a half minutes someone in England dies without the end of life care they needed.

“1 in 3 people in the UK who wanted to die at home actually die in hospital.

“There are an estimated 2,680 people in the West Berkshire area and 1755 in South Oxfordshire in need of palliative care, and as many as 695 who cannot currently access the care they need.

“Sue Ryder supports people through the most difficult times of their lives. The incredible generosity of Select Car leasing will help us ensure we can continue to provide palliative and neurological care and bereavement support from our hospices, neurological centres, and increasingly, in people’s own homes."