Charity says new solar panels will save £15k a year

Little Miracles helps children with additional needs, disabilities and life-limiting conditions

A charity has estimated it will save £15,000 each year by installing solar panels that have been donated.

The Little Miracles charity in Peterborough helps children with additional needs, disabilities and life-limiting conditions to access care. In providing this resource, however, the organisation's annual energy bills have now reached about £20,000.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "No-one wants to donate to gas and electric bills... but the reality is if we can't pay the gas and electric then we can't open."

In response, a number of people and businesses gifted material and time to install the solar panels to ease the charity's bills.

'Helping the children'

"It is going to make such a difference," Michelle King, the charity founder, told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"It is better for the environment, better for the people who donate and better for the children."

Owing to the size of the roof of the charity's building and the number of solar panels that have been installed, Ms King has estimated that the panels could cut the organisation's bills by about £15,000 per year.

She added: "No-one wants to donate to gas and electric bills.

"It's normal to want to know where your money is going, you want to know we are spending it in the right place and that it will go to helping the children.

"The financial saving means we will be able to help more families of children with additional needs, disabilities and life-limiting conditions."