PREPARATIONS are under way for the annual Light for a Life Christmas service giving residents a chance to remember their lost loved ones.

The service at Wigan and Leigh Hospice attracts thousands of people each year who dedicate a light on the charity’s Christmas tree ‘to someone they love or have loved’.

This year’s ceremony will be held at the hospice on Kildare Street, Hindley, at 6.30pm on December 6.

Helen Edmondson, 43, from Lowton, will make a dedication to her husband Max who died at home from prostate cancer in February.

The 72-year-old, whose six-year-old son is also called Max, was cared for by the hospice’s palliative care team, both as an inpatient and then from home, as his cancer progressed.

Helen said: “The hospice did so much for Max and we are definitely going to dedicate a light on the tree in his memory.

“All three of us attended the service last year when Max was an inpatient. It was such a lovely evening and very emotional.

“If we keep talking about someone they are not really gone.

“Going to the ceremony is one way of keeping Max’s memory alive, remembering him and also about donating to the hospice.”

Christine Edwardson, hospice community fundraiser, added: “Light for a Life is a chance to give thanks, to celebrate or remember a loved one.

“It is not only for those with a connection to the hospice but for anyone to make a dedication to someone they love or have loved.”

Names will be entered into the Book of Dedications. It will be on permanent display from March.

Dedications can be made until the twelfth night after Christmas by downloading a form from wlh.org.uk.