A TV production student has seen his video about breaking down stereotypes used on social media for one of the biggest hospices in south Essex.

Stephen Woodard, who studies TV production and screen media at the Centre, at South Essex College's university centre, chose create some eye-catching promotional material for Havens Hospices as part of one of his course modules.

The 22-year-old, from Shoeburyness, was tasked with creating a marketing campaign for an organisation and approached Havens Hospices with an idea to create videos and posters to help promote its charity shops.

The main part of his project was creating a promotional video which the charity was so impressed with, it is now being used on its social media channels.

Stephen decided to focus on breaking down the stereotypes associated with charity shops, promote the good work they do and how they help fund the hospices.

His film features seven-year-old Ava Chaplin and her mum, Liz, 38, from Boreham.

Ava requires 24-hour care, is completely blind and cannot sit or stand unaided.

Life has been hard for Ava and her family, but the support given them by Little Havens Children’s Hospice has made a huge difference.

Mr Woodard said: “It was a brilliant experience, the whole project really helped put my skills to the test. The charity already has an identity to upkeep so I had to adhere to a lot of guidelines already in place while trying to add my own flair to the project.

“It gave me a great idea of what it would be like to work in the industry because I had to stick to a brief and achieve the client’s needs. I am delighted the charity was impressed enough with my video that it is now being used for real.”

Trevor Johnson, director of trading at Havens Hospices, said: “I’d like to thank Stephen for all his hard work in producing this film for us and for choosing to work with his local hospices as part of this project.

“Stephen was keen to increase awareness of the high quality items that we have for sale and to encourage people to shop and donate at our shops, which is a vital way of supporting the charity. The video looks great and is now being shared with our supporters.”

To watch the video entitled Next Customer Please visit youtube.com/havenshospices.