MORE than 60 people applied to fill four vacancies on Hereford Hospitals Trust.

"We were overwhelmed with the response," said chairman Cessa Moore.

She says the reason for the record number of requests is coverage in the Hereford Times and has expressed her thanks.

Earlier this year the newspaper carried a report explaining the role of non-executive directors and urging people from a cross section of the community to apply.

As a result, 64 people put their names forward for the four posts which carry a salary of £5,426 a year.

Mrs Moore said they were of a high calibre and it was difficult to make choices. They had varied skills and came from all sections of the community.

The NHS Appointments Committee has confirmed the names of the four people appointed to join the hospital trust for four years. They are:

Mark Curtis, aged 41, of Peterchurch, an engineering and information technology consultant working in the UK, Europe and the USA. Married, with two children.

Caroline Brown, 42, from Much Birch, who has enjoyed a career in the food industry, has also worked in market research, her last appointment being with a global biotechnology company and now working as a freelance strategic marketing consultant. Ms Brown is a churchwarden, member of the PCC and a bell ringer.

Sebastian Bowen, 61, from north of the county is an Independent member of Herefordshire Council.

A former non-executive director of the old HHA he served in the Royal Marines and is a qualified teacher.

Joanna Whitlock, 44, who lives in north west Herefordshire, is a Cordon Bleu chef and has run a private catering business.

Mrs Whitlock ran a pre-school group in Pembridge and had a real interest in education, regularly tutoring for the local charity ECHO. She has worked as a Samaritan volunteer in Hereford.