CHILDREN who go through operations at Dorset County Hospital's day surgery unit will be rewarded for their bravery thanks to a Dorchester printing firm.

Whitefield Printing Services in Trinity Street has presented the unit with colourful certificates to cheer-up young patients after their ordeals.

Owner Dave Whitefield said he was approached by the unit about the cost of printing the certificates, but when he found out what they were for he decided to donate them for nothing.

He said: "We do the majority of the printing for the hospital and as it was for the children we did it for nothing."

The certificates feature a jolly character called Smudge, which was designed by Staff Nurse Kathy Hawkins.

She said: "We used to get certificates from one of the drug companies but we changed companies and they didn't do certificates, so we decided to get our own done.

"We approached local printing companies to get prices and then Dave very kindly offered to do them for free. We're really chuffed with how they've turned out and the kids love them. It's nice for them to get something at the end for being good and it makes the day a bit more special."