AN APPEAL to bring radiotherapy services to Dorchester for the first time has hit the £1million mark.

The Cancer Appeal at Dorset County Hospital has smashed its first major fundraising target – the £1,000,000 mark. This means that there is only £750,000 left to raise.

Staff said they were delighted to have hit the milestone and said they would “continue to work hard” to secure the rest of the vital funds.

One major fundraiser for the project will be the Walk for Wards event being organised along Weymouth seafront on Sunday, July 2.

A spokesman for DCH said: “The charity wishes to extend its thanks to all those organisations and individuals who have helped get the appeal to the million pound mark – every pound and every penny brings the goal of helping all cancer patients and their families at Dorset County Hospital one step closer.”

The appeal is funding a Cancer Outpatients Department, which is being built on top of the new Robert White Radiotherapy Unit, under construction at the hospital. The building site, opposite Sainsbury’s on Bridport Road in the county town, has information panels explaining all about the project.

Other major donors include the Fortuneswell Cancer Trust, the Lawrence Werth Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust and the Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund.

The Cancer Appeal is part of a major project bringing radiotherapy services to Dorchester for the first time. Staff at DCH said the £9.15 million partnership with Poole Hospital became possible largely thanks to a generous donation from Poole businessman Robert White.

Fundraising for the appeal is still in full swing with hospital staff, local people and community groups organising a wide variety of events, challenges and activities. The Friends of Dorset County Hospital and the Go Girls group are fundraising, as are a number of local companies including Jordan’s Jewellers and Mayfair Properties.

DCH Charity’s Head of Fundraising, Simon Pearson, said that the appeal needed to maintain momentum to achieve its target, adding: “We will continue to work hard, with the tremendous support of so many people and organisations, to secure the funds needed to provide world-class cancer care at Dorset County Hospital.”