Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith promised to donate a bottle of House of Commons whisky and a tankard to a crisis-hit Sussex hospice yesterday.

We exclusively revealed last week how 18 jobs faced the axe at St Barnabas Hospice in Durrington, Worthing, after a major plummet in income.

On a visit to the hospice, Mr Duncan Smith challenged health authority chiefs to hand over more cash.

He also promised to send the Westminster goodies for patients to use as prizes for their morale-boosting bingo games.

Only about seven per cent of St Barnabas's annual £5 million running costs comes from the state, through the Arun, Adur and Worthing Primary Care Trust.

The rest has to be raised through voluntary donations but the hospice's legacy income is expected to fall from more than £3 million last year to £2 million this year and £1.75 million in 2004.

After meeting staff and patients, Mr Duncan Smith told The Argus: "This is an excellent hospice, as good as any I have seen and better than most.

"But it is peculiar because it has such a low level of assistance from the local health authorities, which does surprise me.

"Usually it is higher. I am used to percentage levels being in double figures.

"I am in favour of decisions being made locally but if the primary care trust looks at its budgets very carefully, I am sure it can find a way to help."

The hospice cares for patients with cancer and motor neurone disease.

It provides inpatient beds, day hospice care, emotional and bereavement support, chaplaincy, welfare advice and respite care.

Cancer sufferer Gary Marshfield, 57, from Shoreham, was the patient who persuaded Mr Duncan Smith to send the House of Commons gifts.

He joked he would have hijacked Mr Duncan Smith and held him to ransom to raise money for the hospice - but did not have the energy.

But he was less grateful to Mr Duncan Smith's party for contributing to what he described as "years of neglect" of health resources such as the hospice.

Motor neurone disease sufferer Gary Cuckney, 50, of Lancing, said: "The hospice really needs help. Mr Duncan Smith seemed a nice man. Maybe he can do something for us."

Earlier in the day, Mr Duncan Smith took part in a nursery play session when he visited a primary school.

He went to Rudyard Kipling School in Woodingdean, which has been taken out of special measures.

He got his hands dirty when he met Olivia Ward, three, and Henry Isaacs, four, who were playing with their hands full of goo.

Mr Ducan Smith, who has made improving education a priority if the Tories win the next general election, toured the school and visited the nursery department.

He also attended a school assembly at which some children received special awards for their work and watched children draw on computer screens.

He told staff he had been impressed by what he had seen at the school.

The Tory leader was spending the day in Sussex meeting key councillors in Brighton and Worthing.

He was due to attend a reception at the Singing Hills Golf Club in Albourne last night.