A VIRTUAL line of pennies is being created in a groundbreaking initiative to raise desperately-needed funds for a hospice.

The online trail will stretch from Haworth to the front door of Manorlands at Oxenhope.

Haworth and Worth Valley Rotary Club is behind the venture – its third virtual campaign since July and the second in aid of the Sue Ryder hospice.

Gary Gardner, the club’s service projects team leader and president-elect, said: “The idea is to build a row of old, pre-1971 pennies from the centre of Haworth to Manorlands.

“Obviously, given the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, we can’t get out and make it happen in reality but nothing is going to put us off so we’re doing it online.

“As far as I can tell nobody has ever attempted this before and we’re hoping that people will support our efforts to help sustain one of the area’s most valued health institutions.”

The campaign is being launched on Saturday and will run until December 22.

Starting point for the virtual trail will be Church Street – just outside the Bronte Parsonage Museum – and it will follow a two-mile route via Main Street and Sun Street in Haworth and Moorhouse Lane, Oxenhope, to the hospice.

Mr Gardner added: “If the public and our friends support us as they have done before, we could raise in the region of £1,000 for Manorlands which – like other hospices around the country – has been severely hit financially by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The idea is that people buy ten yards – or 9.2 metres ­– of old pennies for the line for £3. We’ll also be staging a free prize draw at the end of the campaign for those people who have bought pennies and there are some fabulous prizes to be won by the lucky winners!

“You will be able to watch the line of pennies grow along the route on our website and Facebook pages, so please log on and see how far we have got.

“If we manage to get to Manorlands, that’s a grand total of 105,339 old pennies laid end to end.

“Details of how to take part in this event ­– which is designed to bring a bit of Christmas cheer to those hard-working folk at Manorlands – will be made available on our club’s Facebook page, ‘the Rotary Club of Haworth and Worth Valley’, and also on the club’s website at haworthrotary.co.uk.”

The club is thanked for its support by Hayley Ibbotson, senior community fundraiser at Manorlands.

She said: “It’s incredibly kind of the Haworth & Worth Valley Rotary members to choose Manorlands to benefit from their fundraising once again and we’re extremely grateful. It continues to be a challenging year for the hospice and the support of the local community is essential to ensure we can continue to be there for patients and their loved ones when it matters the most.”