TRIBUTES were paid to East Lancashire's fantastic army of fund-raisers as the curtain finally came down on the SuperScan Appeal last night.

A celebration dinner was held to mark the end of the huge fund-raising drive which captured the hearts and minds of local people.

The money has purchased a life-saving Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner which will be housed at Blackburn Infirmary, but will be for the benefit for everybody in East Lancashire.

During the dinner, Ian Woolley, chairman of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust, revealed that the final figure for the appeal was an amazing £1,032,000.

Mr Woolley paid tribute to the generosity of the East Lancashire public who helped to raise the magic million in just over two and a half years.

He said: "It is a complete dream come true and it is fitting that the appeal should end on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the NHS." The dinner was attended by NHS workers across East Lancashire including radiologists, finance staff and trust board members.

Mr Woolley also praised the local media who helped to publicise the appeal, particularly the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

He also paid a warm tribute to appeal chairman Mike Trickett who spearheaded the effort.

Mr Trickett said: "It took two and a half years and I enjoyed every minute of it." He thanked the local committees who co-ordinated the fund raising drive in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn, Rossendale, Burnley and the Ribble Valley.

Commemorative clocks were presented to local organisers, together with Mr Woolley, appeal chairman Mike Trickett and Lancashire Evening Telegraph Editor Peter Butterfield.

The scanner is expected to receive its first patient next month and will be officially opened by Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw in September.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.