A hospital has launched its annual awareness campaign to educate the public about dementia - and it’s had support from a very familiar face.

Dorset County Hospital (DCH) is promoting Dementia Action Week throughout this week, and five days of activities kicked off on Monday with a special visit from Weymouth’s own TV star Lauren Bannon.

Lauren, who sang in front of millions when she reached the final of this year’s series of The Voice UK, was on hand in Damers Restaurant to greet members of the public and take selfies to promote awareness.

Lauren said: “My grandmother passed away a couple of years ago and DCH looked after her as she had dementia. They did a great job.

“When they asked me to come along to promote awareness I said yes of course.”

The Dementia Action Week campaign, previously named Dementia Awareness Week, was started by The Alzheimer’s Society. This year, people are being urged to take one action, big or small, to try and make everyday life better for people affected by dementia.

Vikki Tweedy, DCH dementia specialist and the only dementia nurse at the hospital, said: “We have something different going on every day this week.

“We’ve had people stop to pick up flyers and forget-me-nots, which are a symbol of being a dementia friend. Some have been made by staff and some have been donated to us.”

According to the NHS, it is estimated that there are 12,857 people aged 65 and above with dementia in Dorset.

Vikki added: “Part of my role is to provide some education to all clinician staff. In time we’d like to develop the service further.”

Susie Palmer, DCH communications manager, said “We’d like to say a big thank you to Lauren for taking time out of her hectic schedule to join us to kick start our Dementia Action Week activities.

“She did a fantastic job helping us raise awareness and the donations collected on the day will go towards some great initiatives to support our patients with dementia.”