CHILDREN'S Hospice Julia's House has been shortlisted for a national charity award for its care work and fundraising in Wiltshire.

The Dorset and Wiltshire Children’s Hospices is one of six shortlisted charities in the Third Sector Awards’ Breakthrough of the Year category.

It was singled out for its model respite care and for the innovation – and speed – with which it has managed to raise almost all the money needed to build a hospice for Wiltshire.

Judges were also impressed that Julia’s House has also achieved in just months what would normally take years of public fundraising largely thanks to celebrity backing - most recently from top Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr.

Julia’s House – which is 94 per cent public funded – is now just £400,000 shy of the money it needs to start work on a dedicated hospice in the heart of Wiltshire.

Among the other shortlisted charities are Guide Dogs, Cancer Research UK and the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative for its work managing the Ebola crisis.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on September 24.