Businesses bosses are using pledges from Best of British” lunch to “pay for a day” at Sussex Children’s Hospice The “Best of British” lunch at The Grand hotel in Kings Road, Brighton raised £177,415 for the Chestnut Trees House hospice.

Juice radio boss Ryan Heal organised the lunch and said he was staggered by the amount raised.

He said: “The idea came from businessman Mike Holland, a patron of the charity, who suggested that if businesses pledged £6,850, this would equate to a day’s care at the hospice so “pay for a day” was born.

“The response in the room was quite amazing with 24 guests each pledging £6850 towards care at the hospice, including five days pledged from Mike himself. The additionally money was raised through a raffle and an auction. I want to send a massive thank you to all who attended and all who pledged who make a huge difference to such a worthwhile charity."

Director of children’s services, Linda Perry said:“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the ‘Best of British’ guests. We only receive £225,000 government funding – which equates to just over a month’s care costs at Chestnut Tree House. These pledges will go some way to bridging the gap between the government funding and the huge amount we have to raise for the rest of the year just to keep our services running."