A £3m fundraising campaign backed by two regional dailies to allow a new children’s hospice to be built has reached its target in less than a year.

The Treehouse Appeal was launched last March with the support of Archant Suffolk titles the East Anglian Daily Times and Evening Star.

It aimed to raise £3m to allow East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices to build a new hospice for children in Suffolk and north Essex to replace a former family bungalow, which had been used for 10 years but is now too small.

The campaign gathered huge support from people across the counties and work is almost finished on the new building, which is due to officially open in May.

EADT editor Terry Hunt said: “When the Treehouse Appeal was launched in March last year, some people were saying it would take a long time to raise the £3m needed, especially in a difficult economic climate.

“We knew that Suffolk and north Essex people would be as generous as they possibly could, but we have been absolutely bowled over by the speed at which the target has been reached.”

The hospice was originally launched in 2000 after the Evening Star held a £130,000 campaign.

Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover added: “We are thrilled and delighted that the hospice, originally brought to Ipswich by an Evening Star campaign, has now been successful, allowing them to move in to their new premises.”