THE father and stepmother of the late singer Amy Winehouse have given a Suffolk substance abuse charity a welcome boost by handing over �30,000.

Focus12, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity based in Bury St Edmunds, was awarded the money to sponsor a full-time bed for young people recovering from addiction.

The money was donated by the charitable trust set up in the singer’s memory last year, The Amy Winehouse Foundation.

While in the town, Mitch and Jane Winehouse also officially opened The Annexe, the new Focus12 therapy centre based in St John’s Street. It will offer one-to-one counselling sessions to clients suffering from depression, anxiety and other related issues.

Speaking at the opening, Mr Winehouse praised the “warmth, friendliness and affordability” of Focus12 and talked of how he would like to see the Focus12 model for abstinence-based treatment replicated in other centres across the UK.

Mr Winehouse said: “The Amy Winehouse Foundation has been set up in Amy’s memory to support charitable activities in both the UK and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction.”

Focus12 is an independent charity providing help through both residential and day-care facilities and provides a full range of services from individual therapy through to an intensive 12 week treatment programme.

Chief executive Chip Somers said: “We are tremendously grateful for this donation, which will help us to make a real difference to the lives of young people in crisis.”

Amy Winehouse died at her London home last July, aged only 27, after a well-publicised battle with alcohol and drugs.

The Winehouse family launched the Foundation last September, on what would have been Amy’s 28th birthday.