A MARSH charity is one of the first in the country to use a new texting service to raise funds.

The Joseph Salmon Trust, which helps families pay for funeral and related costs, now has its own text code TJST00.

Supporters can use the code to make donations of up to £10 to the charity.

The JustTextGiving service by Vodafone is brand new and free for charities.

It has no fundraising costs and no network charges for people making the donations.

This means that every penny donated goes straight to the charity.

The trust was set up by Neil and Rachael Salmon following the death of their three-year-old son Joseph from pneumonia.

Mr Salmon said: “This is a wonderful way for us to raise money and it’s speedy, simple and spontaneous.

“Most people have a mobile phone these days to we expect this to be very popular with our supporters.”

Supporters can now text TJST00 and add either 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 to 70070 to make their donation. The text message is free and all of the donation will be passed to the trust.