THE new boss of a Hampshire charity says he is "delighted" to be leading its bid to increase its income.

James Mudie, who until recently was running Naked Fundraising, has been appointed as interim CEO of The Rainbow Centre in Fareham.

He replaced previous chief executive Lara Bull, who left the role for "family and personal reasons".

The Rainbow Centre provides education for children with cerebral palsy as well as adults recovering from a stroke or who have developed Parkinson’s.

Attendees at the centre come from across the south of England.

Chair of the board of trustees Paula Barnes said: “Like any charity The Rainbow Centre has challenges to meet every week and now we have a very experienced charity fundraiser and leader in James Mudie to help us face those challenges with renewed confidence.

“James has worked with The Rainbow Centre in the past so he knows all about us, what our priorities are and where we need to develop and re-focus.

“At the end of the day The Rainbow Centre provides an essential and incredibly valuable service for hundreds of people from right across the south and in order to maintain that we have very challenging fundraising targets that we have to meet.

“The board of trustees is very confident that in James we have the right person to maintain stability and to develop and focus the work of our fundraising and management teams to ensure we continue to provide this essential service for many years to come.”

Mr Mudie said: “I am delighted to be back at The Rainbow Centre. I know it well and the work it does for children and adults throughout the south is exceptional.

“I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead and to working with the exceptionally generous business leaders and other givers who regularly run or attend events and hold fundraisers on our behalf.”