SIX Hampshire charities have been given a financial boost after being nominated by members of the public.

Gifted to them by Ecclesiastical Insurance, the six organisations were given a £1,000 Christmas gift as part of a share of £120,000.

This came after they were nominated by the public as part of the insurer's annual 12 days of Christmas campaign.

Among the organisations were Hampshire Spirit Horse Rescue, The Solent Dolphin, Baby Necessities Southampton, Invest in ME Research and the Rotary Club of Eastleigh Trust Fund.

A total of 6,751 Hampshire residents nominated a cause, with 316 charitable causes in the area receiving votes.

The 120 winning charities across the UK were picked at random from those nominated.

Mark Hews, Group CEO at Ecclesiastical, said: “At Ecclesiastical, charitable giving is at the heart of our business. In fact, we are the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK.

"We are able to give away so much because uniquely, as a financial services group, we are owned by a charity. In these challenging times, we are delighted to be giving back to good courses once more with our annual 12 days of giving Christmas campaign.

“Having supported thousands of charities over the past four years of the campaign, we know that £1,000 can make a real difference to the incredible work that charities do. We’re looking forward to seeing how this festive financial boost will change lives for the better and we hope these donations can bring a positive start to 2022.”

A representative from Hampshire Spirit Horse Rescue said: “The money donated will be used to build a field shelter for the resident horses to help shelter from the weather. This will help us get through the winter and continue to support and horses in our care so they can be rehomed. Thank you.”