A KIDDERMINSTER-based charity has announced a new partnership with an electronic cigarettes company.

E-Lites, of Bromsgrove, is supporting military bereavement service Forces Support, which offers the families of servicemen and women, who have been bereaved in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, support and assistance.

The charity focuses on providing everyday essential services around the homes of armed forces personnel who have died. The work is carried out free of charge to the families of the fallen.

Assistance provided includes gardening projects, indoor decorating and general maintenance around the home.

E-Lites has begun the partnership by offering £10,000 worth of free e-cigarettes stock, which the charity then sells in its shops. The money taken from the sales go directly to the charity. Over £1,500 was raised from sales in the first three weeks.

Adrian Everett, chief executive of E-Lites and ex-RAF Hercules Commander, said: “The ethos of our business is very much community based and having seen Forces Support in action, we are pleased and proud to be able to offer stock which, in turn, enables the charity to continue the excellent work they do.”

Brigadier Peter Jones, chairman of Forces Support, said: “I am absolutely delighted that E-Lites have come on board. This is the first partnership that our organisation has entered into and it’s clearly paying dividends already, not just for us but for all those families who will continue to benefit from our services.”