Two brothers who go to King's School Macclesfield have been going the extra mile to put a smile on the faces of patients and raise funds and supplies for the hospital and East Cheshire Hospice.

Alex, 10, and James Price, 12, have both taken on separate fundraising campaigns to raise over £1,000 for their chosen causes.

Their mum, Sarah Price, told Nub News about how Alex got started: "We have a friend that is a nurse at Macclesfield Hospital, she works on wards one and two, and she was explaining how they have patients that might be recovering from Covid-19, but as they're in hospital, they can't have any visitors and therefore they don't get any toiletries.

"We set up a collection point on our driveway for toiletries and we could not believe the response we got. We got hundreds of items; boxes of shampoo, boxes of conditioner and shower gel. So we were able to give that to the hospital."

Sarah said Alex took the lead on collecting the items and put the box out every day and would keep checking what donations had been received throughout the day.

"It just became his thing and he got really excited about it. He couldn't believe people were taking an interest and helping," Sarah added.

After Alex and the family had fulfilled the patients need for toiletries, they moved onto trying to get some entertainment for them.

Sarah said: "Even though they might be recovering or still poorly, there is nothing in there for them to pass the time because there is no hospital radio or TV. My friend suggested puzzle books and Alex suggested we raise money to buy some."

A Go Fund Me page was set up with an initial target of £100. They have so far achieved more than five times this amount at £550.

As well as puzzle books, they have also supplied patients with CD players to play music and orange cordial.

"They also asked for blankets because they've got a lot of elderly and frail patients and they really want lightweight blankets for them. We've managed to buy them 40 blankets," Sarah said.

12-year-old James went another route to raise money for the East Cheshire Hospice, by combining fundraising with his love of baking.

He set up the 'Bake my Day' challenge in which he would bake a cake for every £50 in donations he received.

With the current total sitting at £564, well above the £300 target, this had led to a busy kitchen in the Price household.

James' creations have included chorizo, ham and egg muffins; berry flapjacks; mini scones and a chocolate fudge cake for his dad's birthday.

Sarah said: "He baked each cake and posted the recipe online along with photos of the cake so that other people could bake at home, which is a nice idea during lockdown."

She added: "It's been quite successful and we've had to bake a lot of cakes!"

Although the brothers can't believe how much they've raised, at £1,115 combined, Sarah said they want to go further.

You can donate to James' 'Bake my Day' fundraiser on his Just Giving Page and to Alex's hospital and charities campaign on his Go Fund Me page.