THE new Mayor of Kirklees Eric Firth has swapped the charity collecting tin for a mobile phone.

He’s made it as easy as one text message to donate to his chosen mayor’s charity the West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust.

Text ERIC11, then a space and the amount you want to donate to 70070.

And all the money will go towards the state-of-the art children’s hospice currently being built in Brackenhall.

Clr Firth, a councillor for Dewsbury East, visited the site of the new hospice yesterday and told the Examiner: “It’s a fantastic idea and a great new way to give money to charity.

“When people are rattling buckets you don’t often have any change but this way you can just donate with a text.”

Clr Firth has chosen to focus on just one charity – the hospice – as part of his mayoral year.

He said: “I chose the Forget Me Not Trust because although they’ve raised the money to build the new hospice they still need lots of money to finish it off and keep it running.

“There’s an ever-increasing demand for this kind of facility and it is brilliant that we have one for Kirklees now.

“I think the nearest one at the moment is all the way in Wetherby.

“This hospice will be for the whole of Kirklees – and it’s not Huddersfield centric so it couldn’t be better placed here in Brackenhall.