DONATIONS totalling £3,312 were sent to Hereford County Hospital following the funeral of the late John Sevenoaks, of Shepherds Hill, Dulas.

His widow Jill had requested that any acknowledgements for the respected farmer, who was awarded the MBE for his services to the farming community, should go to the hospital in appreciation of his care there earlier in the summer.

Staff at the hospital decided to buy a state-of-the-art piece of apparatus which will bring huge benefits to patients who have to stay in bed for a long period.

It is a Nimbus 3 air mattress, which, as its name suggests, is filled with air which redistributes the pressure on a patient's body and reduces the risk of developing sores.

"A donation of this kind is a very valuable asset for patients at the County Hospital,'' said tissue viability nurse Jo-Anna Grove.

"One in five patients in UK hospitals endures the pain, distress and discomfort of a pressure sore which can result from many factors,'' she said.

The new mattress, described as a clever piece of equipment, can be used wherever it is needed in the hospital.

Mrs Sevenoaks has also had a special plaque made to go with the new equipment bought with the money given in her husband's memory.