A charity is gearing up for two services of remembrance ahead of the festive period.

Heart of Kent Hospice’s Light Up a Life events have become increasingly popular with many people returning to reminisce about loved ones.

Dorothy Gorman will go to her tenth service this year. She first attended a few months after her mother’s death in 2007.

She said: “Christmas is always poignant because I lost my dad two days after Christmas in 1961 when I was just nine, and then my mum when I was 55.

“I knew about Light Up a Life because my mum was under the care of the hospice community nurses. I found it a really nice service, and it wasn’t solemn at all. When you see all the other people there, you realise that you’re not alone.”

This year’s services will be at the Hall Road hospice this Sunday, and at The Friars, Aylesford Priory, on Sunday, December 3.

The events are open to all, not just those who have been involved with the hospice.

To attend, call 01622 790195.