AN appeal for a new prostate cancer scanner at Burnley General Hospital is being backed by the Clarets.

Bosses at Burnley Football Club have announced that all proceeds from their matchday lottery draw for the game against Sheffield Wednesday at Turf Moor on Saturday, January 18, will be donated to the appeal.

There will also be a bucket collection on the day of the game to raise extra cash for the appeal.

Ex-Clarets chairman Barry Kilby, whose company operates the club’s Lottery, is a sufferer of prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer in men.

And Mr Kilby, along with fellow prostate cancer sufferer Ian Britton, whose goal famously kept the Clarets in the Football League during the 2-1 match against Leyton Orient game at Turf Moor in May 1987, have joined forces to help boost the fund towards it’s £50,000 total.

Mr Kilby said: “It is extremely important to the Burnley area that we get this scanner.

“There are only three or four in the country and the one at Burnley is nearing the end of its life.

“A new machine would mean that the men can get diagnosed quickly, help stop this killer disease and save local men’s lives.”

Fundraisers, including Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle, are trying to raise the funds for the new scanner, which will allow state-of-the-art 4D scanning.

The fundraising will enable a ‘base-station’ to be located at Burnley General Hospital, with a smaller, remote unit that can be used to run mobile clinics throughout the borough.