Julia’s House families became the guests of Sting and Trudie Styler after the couple hosted an event for them in the grounds of their Wiltshire home.

More than 170 of the mums, dads and children supported by the Dorset and Wiltshire Children’s Hospices enjoyed a relaxing day in the beautiful gardens near Amesbury.

Activities included tree-climbing, a wheelchair-friendly zip wire, crafts, music, tennis, games complementary therapies and lunch in a marquee on the croquet lawn.

Trudie and Sting popped up throughout the day, mingling, chatting and posing for pictures with families.

A particular highlight for many of the children saw Mrs Styler bring out some of her pets including Irish wolfhound puppies and a Shetland pony.

Mrs Styler offered to host the family event after finding out about Julia’s House at a fundraising clay pigeon shoot organised by the charity’s patron Guy Ritchie last year.

As they left, parents wrote thank you notes for Sting and Trudie which were later turned into a booklet and sent to the couple.

One message read: “You made us all feel so welcome and we felt very touched to be part of it all”.

Another said: "The effort, care and love that went into organising such a beautiful day was overwhelming. Family days like these are very rare and we cherish every memory."

Julia’s House plans to build a children’s hospice in central Wiltshire within the next couple of years. This will enable the charity to expand its current small south Wiltshire home-based respite care to the rest of the county.

(c) The Wiltshire Times