A DAY of hospice care is being funded by Durham Cathedral to mark St Cuthbert's Day.

The cathedral was built specifically to house the shrine of the Patron Saint of Northern England and every year it holds a festival of services and events around his Saint’s Day, March 20.

St Cuthbert, who died on March 20, 687, was brought to Durham by the monks of Lindisfarne as they fled Viking invasions, arriving in Durham in 995.

In honour of St Cuthbert’s Patron Day, Durham Cathedral has donated the running costs for a day of care provided at St Cuthbert’s Hospice Living Well Centre.

The annual donation will cover a variety of activities and therapies for guests who access the hospice's services each week.

Gavin Charlesworth, Living Well Centre manager, said: “Our day services are vital to those in our community who are living with life-limiting illnesses. The Living Well Centre is a vibrant, social place for people to come and visit for the day, access advice, strategies and therapies to enable them to cope better with their health and wellbeing.

“We are incredibly grateful to Durham Cathedral for this support in honour of our namesake St Cuthbert. This will enable us to help people during what is a most challenging and difficult time for them, and make sure they and their families receive all the support they need.”

The cathedral distributes ten per cent of donations from its congregation and service collections to local, national and international charities and responds to emergency appeals in the event of natural disasters.