A garage owner has donated the first £1,000 to the appeal for a new digital mammogram machine at Dorset County Hospital.

Alan Old’s donation came just minutes after the organisers launched the appeal in Dorchester on Friday with a grand aim to raise £500,000.

Mr Old, who runs Olds Garage in Portesham, said he wanted to help the moment he read about the appeal.

He said: “I saw it in the Echo and I decided to donate money because the unit clearly needs the machine sooner rather than later and it can really save lives.

“Early recognition of this type of disease can make all the difference and that is why this appeal is so important.”

The £1,000 he donated has kicked off the campaign, which has been launched by former breast cancer sufferer Wendy Nightingale and Dorset County Hospital.

Stevie Pattison-Dick, the fundraising manager for the Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust, said: “I got the call from Alan literally minutes after returning from the launch.

“It is such a terrific response and we are all thrilled with our first donation after the launch.

“Hopefully it will set the tone and other supporters in the county will follow suit.”

Appeal organisers are urging everyone who has ever been treated at Dorset County Hospital to donate £1 each. The equipment needed will take diagnostic imaging for breast cancer from film and chemicals to digital. The benefits are faster diagnosis, more accurate detection and the ability to treat greater numbers.

Anyone wishing to donate can pop into any Barclays branch or use the collection pots around the hospital and in many local shops.

From Monday there will be collection boxes in the Dorset Echo offices in Weymouth, on the Granby Industrial Estate or the Dorchester office in Antelope Walk.

Supporters can visit the appeal’s website to get ideas of how to fundraise and see the monthly total raised so far. There are also templates online which enable you to print off and make your own donation box. To support the appeal visit boostdch.co.uk