Ipswich's The Big Hoot raised over £270,000 for St Elizabeth Hospice

An Ipswich art trail has reeled in record funds, raising over £270,000 for hospices in Suffolk.

Final figures for The Big Hoot, which saw 115 ornately-decorated owls make nest around the town, have been totalled, with money going towards St Elizabeth Hospice.

After results from the trail's app and a survey were calculated, the charity projected the event could have brought in as much as £2.3m for the town centre through increased footfall.

More than 315,000 people took part in The Big Hoot, which raised £270,316 in total.

The birds went under the hammer in October, which raised £163,590 – enough to pay the wages of four full-time nurses for a year.

In addition, 60 schools or youth groups raised about £45,000 for the hospice through the art trail.

The total raised surpassed those from the town's previous two art trails, Pigs Gone Wild 2016 and 2019's Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk.

Celia Joseph, Community Relationships Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “The Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 brought so much creativity and fun to Ipswich last summer, while raising vital funds and awareness for the hospice.

“The art trail leaves a fantastic legacy which, as this data highlights, has had a positive impact on the town, St Elizabeth Hospice and the local community.

"We thank the community, local businesses and supporters for getting behind the Big Hoot and helping make sure it was an ‘owltastic’ success'.”