THE CHILDREN'S ward at Dorset County Hospital has received welcome support from a source very close to home.

Dorchester's Sainsbury's Local store, just opposite the hospital in Bridport Road, has provided a £2,000 fundraising boost to the Kingfisher Ward.

Branch manager Graham Dunn applied for a grant to support the hospital and received just over £1,500, with further in-store fundraising taking the total up over the £2,000 mark.

Mr Dunn said: "As the store nearest to the hospital we wanted to support a cause close to our hearts.

"The in store money was mainly raised by customer donating at the tills."

Dorset County Hospital Charity’s head of fundraising, Andrew House, said: "This generous donation shows us just what a small store can achieve in a short amount of time.

"The charity can use this money to fund care and equipment over and above those the NHS can provide and the Kingfisher Ward in particular will be able to use this money for the benefit of local children who need to spend time on the ward.”

The charity also fundraises to supply the latest technology and equipment, to enable research to take place and to buy extra items that really make a difference to patients.

The charity said it would like to thank all the staff and customers at Sainsbury’s for their generous support of the hospital.

Currently the charity is working on the Cancer Appeal, aiming to raise £1.75million for a new cancer outpatients department to be built at the hospital together with a new radiotherapy department.

The recent Walk for Wards event which was held at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth is also expected to raise significant funds for the Cancer Appeal and for specific wards.

For more information about the Cancer Appeal or the Walk for Wards event visit the Dorset County Hospital Charity’s new website at dchft.nhs.uk/charity, email charity@dchft.nhs.uk or contact the fundraising office on 01305 253215.