A Sydenham hospice widely regarded as the first institution of its kind celebrated its 50th anniversary at Sunday’s New Year’s Day Parade in central London.

St Christopher’s Hospice entered two floats into the parade, representing the Boroughs of Bromley and Lambeth, raising £11,000 for the charity.

The Lambeth float was awarded second prize while Bromley’s ‘Screen Stars & Hospice Heroes’ came ninth out of the 17 London boroughs that took part in the parade.

The anniversary celebrations commemorates 50 years since Dame Cicely Saunders founded St Christopher’s in Sydenham as the first to adopt its approach to pallliative care.

Both floats were made by patients, staff and supporters at the hospice in Sydenham and its Bromley site at Caritus House in Orpington.

Shaun O’Leary, joint chief executive at St Christopher’s, said: "The atmosphere on the day was breathtaking, with so many St Christopher’s patients, staff and volunteers and choir members singing and dancing their way through London."

Members of the hospice’s Young Adults Group, established to support young people aged 17 to 25 with life-limiting conditions in south east London, also made the journey to central London to take part.

Phillipa Sellar, nurse specialist for St Christopher’s Young Adults Group, said: "The contribution of the Young Adults Group made the day extra special.

"Personal messages and wishes were painted onto decorative feathers on the float, so that even if many of our patients weren’t up to travelling to the parade, they could see the event on TV and feel special that they’d been part of it.

"To make this dream possible for some of our Young Adults took a great deal of planning, but it was a major achievement for them and such a fantastic experience."

The hospice cares for people across Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, covering a population of 1.5 million people.

It was founded as a response to the increasing number of people dying in hospitals rather than their own homes during the 1950s. It is widely recognised as the first hospice to practice modern palliative care, committed to education and research.