HOME secretary Jack Straw has praised the Lancashire Evening Telegraph for helping to raise the £1 million needed for the MRI scanner at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

The Blackburn MP officially opened the ground-breaking equipment which was bought after almost three years of fundraising through the SuperScan appeal.

Mr Straw said: "We all thank the Lancashire Evening Telegraph which has worked so hard to publicise this appeal.

"It is one thing to have a good idea but quite another to make sure the message gets across and we must thank the media for that.

"A fantastic amount of money has been raised and the appeal touched the hearts and minds of people across East Lancashire.

"People will value this equipment all the more than if the money had been merely handed down from Whitehall." The Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine will help doctors diagnose patients from all over East Lancashire and an electronic link will give consultants at Burnley General Hospital access to the images it produces.

Brian Foster, chairman of the Burnley Health Care NHS Trust, said the scanner represented yet another milestone in the development of partnerships between health trusts in East Lancashire.

And his counterpart from the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Trust, Ian Woolley, said the appeal had united people from many different backgrounds across East Lancashire.

He added: "We are proud to have this life saving equipment available in the 50th year of the NHS."

Mike Trickett, chairman of the SuperScan appeal, said: "The response from the people of East Lancashire has been simply overwhelming.

"To raise over £1 million over two and a half years is a marvellous tribute to the kindness and generosity of local people.

"Everybody who has either been connected with or has donated to the appeal must have a feeling of great personal satisfaction."

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