Inaugural Jail & Bail Event Raises over £24,000 for Queenscourt Hospice

Community | 20 September 2023

Inaugural Jail & Bail Event Raises over £24,000 for Queenscourt Hospice

An event which saw a local hospice jail 12 high profile members of the community has raised over £24,000 for the charity.

Queenscourt Hospice, which delivers compassionate care for patients and their families across West Lancashire, Formby and Southport, hosted its inaugural Jail & Bail event on Friday 15^th of September.

The 12 individuals were ‘arrested’ at the House of Ivy, escorted to the former magistrates court at Access Point, and ‘locked up’ in cells at Southport Police Station – where they needed to raise at least £999 in bail money to escape.

The 12 ‘inmates’ taking part were made up of;

• Adrian Antell, Headteacher of Farnborough Junior School
• Vici Bradshaw, The Woollen Pig, Daniel Doherty, co-owner of Ripples Bathrooms
• Helen Hurst, Local NHS Team.
• Debbie Pierce-Lawson, Corporate Services Director at Queenscourt Hospice
• David Lloyd, Director at David Lloyd Financial Planning
• Andrew Robertson, Training Manager, Mettler Toledo Safeline X-Ray
• Robert Smallman, Owner of La Tabella Churchtown
• Kate Sutcliffe, Local NHS Team.
• Chetan Thakkar, Head of Finance at Queenscourt Hospice
• Baz Todd from Mighty Radio and Baz Todd Events
• Chris Upton, Headteacher at Tarleton Community Primary School.

The group then took on a series of quizzes and challenges over lunch at the Cheshire Lines Inn – allowing the opportunity to raise their bail money and network with their fellow inmates.

Liz Hartley, Fundraising Manager at Queenscourt, said: “We are delighted that our first ever Jail & Bail event in collaboration with Stand Up for Southport was such a success.

“We had such a fantastic response from the public who stopped to donate as we paraded our inmates through the streets.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to not only our incredible inmates, but to all the local businesses who supported the event including Access Point, Andrew Brown at Stand up for Southport, Silcock Leisure Group, the Cheshire Lines Inn, the Marine Lake Café and Dave Brown Photography.

“Our thanks also go to the outstanding support of Sefton Police who put our inmates through their paces and went above and beyond to make the day as successful as possible.

Debbie Pierce-Lawson, Corporate Services Director at Queenscourt, added: “I had a fantastic time taking part in Jail & Bail – it was a great laugh and a fantastic way to raise funds.

“I was charged crimes against fashion – which I pleaded not guilty! It was the eighties after all…..

“All of the bail money raised will go to ensuring our charity can continue to provide compassionate care to patients and their families across West Lancashire, Formby and Southport.”

We are hoping to make our next event bigger and better! So if you’d like to get involved next year, please contact our fundraising team on fundraising@queenscourt.org.uk