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It may be months away but teenage school leavers start planning their prom outfits early.

Now St Catherine' s Hospice says it has found a way to to make outfit choosing easier and cheaper for those in search of that special dress.

The Lostock Hall based Hospice is hosting a special Prom Week at Penwortham Arts Centre from Saturday, February 26 to Friday, March 4.

Jennifer Donaldson shows off some of the dresses which will be on sale at the pop up shop Photo: Kelvin Stuttard

More than 200 pre-loved and brand new prom desses will be available plus a range of accessories including bags, shoes and some jewellery.

Proceeds will help to fund specialist care at the hospice which serves central Lancashire.

It follows a similar and very successful Prom dress sale two years ago which was held at the hospice site, but the new venue means this sale can run for longer.

Carole Hoyle, Head of Retail at the Hospice said: "We're extending the Prom event for a week and also we want to open it up to welcome more people - people can shop at times to suit them."

Erin Hughes and Jennifer Donaldson model two of the prom dresses which will be on sale at the hospice Prom Shop at Penwortham Arts Centre Photo: Kelvin Stuttard

The dress shop will be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, from 12 noon-6pm Monday to Thursday and from 10am - 1pm on the Friday.

All the dresses have been donated and Carole said: "This is part of our initiatives to encourage people to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly when shopping - that reuse, recycle mentality. Also we're providing a mechanism for families who have not got an awful lot of money to shop for proms at reasonable prices. Prom dresses are so expensive! Hopefully it's giving everybody the opportunity to purchase a nice dress for the prom from £25 upwards. Sizes will range from 8 - 20."

Carole added: "We're working quite a bit with the Arts Centre at the moment. It's a great space there. We did our "In The Frame" initiative there where we recycle (picture) frames and that was really successful."

* If anyone would like to donate a prom dress or accessories before the sale they can drop donations at the St Catherine's Occasion Wear shop at 11, Lune Street, Preston or at other St Catherine's Hospice shops.

For details of the In The Frame initiative and sale see hereFor more information about the hospice see here To subscribe to the Lancashire Post see here

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