BUS passengers on the X90 service have helped to fund vital care for young patients at Helen & Douglas House hospice.

The Oxford Bus Company has donated £5,070 to the East Oxford facility, raised from 50p pledges from every return ticket bought on the airline route during July.

All proceeds raised from return journey sales between Oxford and London last month were added up and a cheque was handed over last week at the hospice in Magdalen Road.

Oxford Bus Company staff were also given a guided tour of the centre to see the wide range of vital services provided.

Helen & Douglas House provides hospice care for babies and children in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties.

The donation is a boost for the charity, which closed Douglas House in June for young adults with complex health conditions, due to financial pressures.

Lucy Walker, fundraiser at Helen & Douglas House, said the donation would make a big difference.

She said it could pay for an entire outreach team for a week, a family to stay in the hospice for a week to be with their child as they receive end of life care, a patient to go on a day out, and cover the cost of the outreach nurse team for 24 hours.

Ms Walker added: “We are almost entirely reliant on public donations and need £3m a year to provide specialist care to local terminally ill babies and children.

“So we honestly can’t thank enough the Oxford Bus Company and the Oxford commuters for their support - it really does mean so much to our families and staff.”

The X90 is a luxury coach service which operates between Oxford and London, with on-board free wi-fi, power sockets, air-conditions and toilets.

The bus company’s managing director Phil Southall said: “It was a pleasure to have a tour of Helen & Douglas House and meet the staff who do such a fantastic job.

“It was also a lovely surprise to receive a painting of two buses created by some of the children, as a thank you.

“It will take pride of place in my office and my thanks go to the children for such a splendid painting.

“Many people across Oxfordshire are currently fundraising to help the hospice at a difficult time and we wanted to do something to help.

“We’re delighted with the response and thanks to our passengers have helped to make a difference.”

Helen House, which supports children and babies aged under 18, remains open as usual.

Managers at Helen & Douglas House said earlier the decision to close Douglas House was due to staffing levels.

Douglas House was opened by the Queen in 2004, as the sister hospice to Helen House, opened in 1982, on the same site.

It was the world’s first hospice especially for young adults, named after a patient who stayed at Helen House more than 80 times.

Douglas House was initially due to close this month.