A NECKLACE of bright lights will again decorate a dark corner of Clatterbridge this festive season as Wirral people remember loved ones . . .

The hugely popular 'Light Up A Life For A Loved One' appeal - an annual event which last year raised a record £78,000 for St John's Hospice in Wirral - is launched today in the Globe.

The lights shining out from trees in the hospice garden have become a symbol of hope and celebration for visitors to the purpose-built hospice, which nestles by Clatterbridge Hospital near the M53, passers-by and patients alike.

This year's big 'switch-on' takes place on Sunday, December 4 - and you can be part of what is always a moving occasion by sponsoring a light in the trees. Just complete and return the form (left). Alternatively, ring the Credit/Debit Card Hotline on 343-0808 More than 3,000 people attended last year's touching ceremony.

Claire Williams, fundraising secretary, at St John's Hospice, said: "The carol singing has always proved to be a poignant event - 'Light Up A Life' means so much to so many people and they all welcome this opportunity to remember a loved one in this way."

The 'Light Up A Life For A Loved One' appeal, supported since its inception by the Globe, has a special place in people's hearts because it enables them to celebrate the life of a loved one in a positive and special way at such an emotional time of the year.

The lights will be switched on at the now traditional open air carol service on Sunday, December 4 (6.30pm). Christmas gifts and cards will be on display from 1.30pm in the hospice's Forget Me Not gift shop. Mince pies with coffee or mulled wine will be served from 4pm, when other stalls also open.

The lights will illuminate the hospice garden and surrounding area until Twelfth Night (January 6).

For sponsorship of £5, members of the public can have one light donated either in memory of a loved one or as a Christmas gift for a relative or friend.

Everyone who sponsors a light will have the name of their loved one or friend entered in a Book of Honour which will be on display in the Chapel at St John's Hospice. Only names received at the hospice no later than first post on Monday, November 28 can be guaranteed inclusion in the Book of Honour on December 4. Those names received after this date will be added to the Book after the switch-on.

Each light sponsor will also receive a Christmas card bearing their own name and the name of the person the light is for.