WESTBURY League of Friends has supported a mobile chemotherapy service by raising funds for it with a bingo night.

The group held its annual bingo night just before Christmas which raised £750 for Hope for Tomorrow, which was founded in 2003 in a bid to alleviate some of the stresses associated with receiving cancer treatment via the provision of Mobile Chemotherapy Units to hospitals.

On Monday the League of Friends donated a cheque to Susan Thurnock, Hope For Tomorrow’s South West regional fundraiser, to help the charity continue its work.

Westbury League of Friends chairman Erica Watson said: “We were thrilled to raise that amount from the bingo night and as always it was a real pleasure handing the cheque over to Hope for Tomorrow.

“As more and more NHS services are being cut, Hope for Tomorrow is absolutely vital and carries out such important work.

“We are fortunate that it visits Westbury regularly and it’s important to show our support for it.

“A big thank you must go to everyone who helped us raise that amount at the bingo night including Center Parcs, who donated a free day pass at the attraction.

“Without donations like that it simply wouldn’t have been possible.”

In 2007 the charity launched the world’s first Mobile Chemotherapy Unit in a unique partnership with the NHS.

Owned and maintained by the charity and operated by highly trained NHS staff, these well-equipped units allow cancer patients to receive treatment in a restful environment closer to home, saving long distance travel and minimising waiting times.

The units can travel five days a week and have the capacity to treat between 18 to 20 patients a day.

A Hope for Tomorrow spokesman said: “We are extremely grateful for their ongoing support.

“The League of Friends have raised funds for us for the last five years and we couldn’t keep the wheels turning on our unit without support such as theirs – charities survive thanks to other people’s generosity.

“Patients are the most important thing to us and thanks to this donation we will be able to reach more of them.”

For more information on Hope for Tomorrow, visit www.hopefortomorrow.org.uk