A charitable Kesgrave woman is hoping to put a smile on the faces of patients at Ipswich Hospital this Easter as she launches her drive for chocolate eggs.

Contracts manager Lyndsey Hessey began organising collections for patients at the Heath Road hospital last year, as a way of giving back to the hospital and the community.

“We live in Kesgrave and my whole family have used A&E and the clinics over the years,” the 38-year-old said.

“I work full time so I cannot regularly spare time to volunteer, so I thought that as I am on social media, I can go on Facebook and Twitter to organise it, and feel like I am giving back.”

Last year, Mrs Hessey’s efforts resulted in around 260 Easter eggs being donated to help cheer up children and adults who were stuck in hospital over the Easter weekend.

Mrs Hessey is hopeful that this figure can be emulated again this year.

She said: “It’s always a nice surprise. The hospital are brilliant, and although they try and make it as nice as they can, being in hospital at Christmas or Easter is never nice, so it’s good to have a bit of a distraction.

“They all really love it and the staff are just as excited.”

In previous collections, Mrs Hessey raised more than 300 advent calendar donations, which were split between the hospital and the Families in Need (FIND) Foodbank, while a collection to replace old and worn duvets resulted in 60 new sets of bedsheets for the children’s wards.

“Last year we got new duvet covers with Disney princesses and Spiderman and things on, so the kids can choose when they come in.”

Mrs Hessey will be accepting Easter egg donations until March 21, before taking the collection to the hospital and handing them out with staff on the wards.

She added: “It’s really fun to do because they [Easter eggs] are quite easy to pick up now and can make a real difference to those on the wards.”

To donate an Easter egg, contact Mrs Hessey by emailing lyndseyhessey@btinternet.com or via Twitter @lyndsey_hessey