THE Harvey family from Studley will be the face of this year's Acorns Christmas Appeal.

They have given their backing to this year's appeal after losing seven year old son Joshua 10 years ago.

Joshua suffered a chronic asthma attack, just four days before Christmas 2007, which left him unconscious and in intensive care, from which he never recovered.

The youngster spent his final few days at Acorns Birmingham hospice before finally losing his battle for survival in early January.

But the Harvey family, who comprise of dad Richard, mum Jo and sons Max, 14 and Issac, eight, have never forgotten the kindness showed to them by Acorns and have since been avid supporters, raising in excess of £50,000 for the hospice themselves.

Jo Harvey said: " The time we had with Joshua at Acorns was precious. Those last three days of Joshua's life could have been totally different had it not been for Acorns.

"They made it almost bearable to say goodbye to Joshua and it helped keep us together as a family and that was priceless!

Chris Bentley, who is PR and Communications manager for Acorns, said: "Christmas from a fund raising point of view is a very important time for us.

"We've also managed to put a film together about the Harvey family, which is very emotive.

"They are sharing their story 10 years on in the hope it will bring in much needed funds to help others in their situation".

The film can be viewed below:

Louise Arnold, who is director of income generation with Acorns added: "Christmas is a time when families come together to share in the celebrations, but some, very sadly, have to face the reality that they will have to use Acorns during the festive period.

"We make sure we're here for those families, even on Christmas Day, but we can only do this through the donations that support our vital work.