A RECYCLING company has thought of a bold way to raise money for a local hospice…by painting one of its lorries pink.

Benfleet Waste, part of Benfleet Scrap Company, has given the lorry its distinctive makeover in aid of St Luke’s Hospice, in Nethermayne, Basildon.

Customers can opt for the brightly coloured truck when ordering their skip, and for each hire charge, the company will then donate towards the hospice.

Darren Carter, Benfleet Waste transport manager, said the lorry hit the road for the first time last week.

He said: “As a locally based business we’re really proud to support St Luke’s. All our customers have to do to help raise funds for the hospice is to ask for our pink lorry to deliver their skip.

“It’s as easy as that, and our team at Benfleet Waste will do the rest by directing a proportion of the money from the hire charge straight to St Luke’s Hospice.

“Our driver Kirk has really embraced it, and has been getting quite a lot of attention from it.

“I’d say to people to look out for the pink truck with a skip on its back. Mind you, you can’t really miss it.”

Benfleet Waste has a total of ten lorries.

Kirk Bailey, who drives the pinks one, said he has been getting plenty of attention since its repaint.

He said: “When I saw it, I thought ‘wow, that’s bright’, nobody can miss it really.

“Being behind the wheel of a pink lorry gives me so much attention. Mind you, I often get my leg pulled by the lads and girls at work.”

St Luke's provides end-of-life care and support for people with life-limiting illnesses and their families.

It was co-founded by Trudy and Les Cox in 1983, and its services cost around £3 million to run per year.

Although it receives some support from the NHS, a large proportion of funds have to be raised directly by the hospice itself.

For more information on St Luke’s, visit stlukeshospice.com.

For more information on the scrap company, visit benfleetwaste.co.uk, or call 01268 792 494.