A kind-hearted mum raised more than £660 for a hospice after hosting a dinner for 80 friends and family at her home.

Clare Lawson, from Thame, helped to raise £664 from her ‘dine at mine’ meal for children’s hospice Helen & Douglas House.

Her five-year-old son Josh has brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen at birth has been receiving respite care from the hospice since September 2013.

Ms Lawson hosts a mini-festival called Mathias-fest every year in aid of the charity and this year she treated 80 of the family’s loved ones to a meal in a marquee at her home.

There was a barbecue running all afternoon, garden games, a blow up pool and bouncy castle.

But the main fundraiser was the tea-time pizza making. The family borrowed a pizza oven from some friends and guests then created their own pizzas for a donation for more than five hours.

Ms Lawson said: “Dine at Mine is a great way to fundraise. It gets friends and family together, enjoying a good catch up while helping raise funds and awareness for such an amazing cause. 

“Helen & Douglas House has been such a massive support for Josh and us as a family. 

“The outreach nurses and doctors have provided invaluable emotional and medical guidance, as they view Josh as a whole person, not just his condition, and know him and our family so well. 

“There are very few places where Josh and his young brothers, Tom and Jake, can come and play together, where they all have fun – all three boys love spending time at Helen & Douglas House.

“The charity also provides much needed respite so that we can get some rest and spend quality time with Josh’s siblings.”

Lauren Kemp from Helen & Douglas House said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Clare for organizing a Dine at Mine meal and all her guests who were so generous, which means we can be there for families like hers to provide respite, symptom control and end-of-life care. 

“As a charity we need to raise £3 million every year and we cannot do this without supporters holding fundraising events.”