THE Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane is urging borough residents to put their spare change to good use and help out two local charities.

Cllr Gwen Richardson (pictured above) officially launched The Mayor's Penny Challenge in Festival Place, and all of the money raised will go to SeeAbility's Heather House facility, in Tadley, and the National Children's Home (NCH) project, in Linden Avenue, Old Basing.

The challenge aims to collect enough pennies to make a nine-and-a-half-mile chain from Heather House to Linden Avenue.

Cllr Richardson said: "I was delighted to see so many people donating already. It's going very well.

"It's good to be able to run the appeal for these charities who do a lot of good work."

If the challenge succeeds it will raise more than £7,000 for the charities, which both provide support for children with physical or mental disabilities.

Representatives from the National Children's Home and SeeAbility will be on hand all day in Festival Place tomorrow, and collection boxes are available for clubs, shops and societies.

To order a box, call Susie Simmons at NCH on 01189 843968 or Kathryn Llewellyn at SeeAbility on 01372 755014.