Children in hospital and in hospices in Devon will be enjoying some tasty Easter treats thanks to the efforts of a county funeral directors.

Shoobridge Funeral Services (SFS), which has branches in Exmouth, Honiton and Exeter, has been collecting eggs in a bid to send a message of hope to children in hospital this Easter.

And kind-hearted people across East Devon have responded, with hundreds of eggs donated at the firm's branches.

The company has pledged to match the number of eggs donated and will deliver them to children in the Bramble Ward at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, the Children’s Hospice South West and Hospiscare Exeter.

Within two weeks of launching the appeal, they had been inundated with more than 200 eggs, which are starting to block out the light in the front window of their Polsloe Road shop in Exeter.

Paul Shoobridge, director of SFS, said: “Easter is the most hopeful time of the year, and eggs help to symbolise this with their connotations to new life.

"We want to do something to put smiles on children’s faces so we came up with this initiative – asking people to donate Easter eggs for us to deliver on Easter weekend.

"We will also match every egg like for like, doubling the number of eggs we can give out.

"Having to match so many Easter eggs is a wonderful problem to have."

SHS, a long-standing supporter of Hospiscare, has two collection points where people and businesses can drop off their eggs.

They are at their Exeter branch, at 183 Pinhoe Road, and their Exmouth branch, at 26 Exeter Road.

Established in Honiton in 1993, SHS is a family-run business run by Penny, Terry and Paul Shoobridge, which has expanded to Exeter and Exmouth in the past 10 years.

For more information on the Easter egg appeal, call Michaela Greenslade, Exeter branch manager, on 01392 279927.