A CAMPAIGN to purchase a Mini MRI Scanner for Bournemouth has received a boost in the form of a £1,000 donation.

The cash was awarded to Bournemouth Hospital Charity by Vodafone UK's Community Connection Award after the store team in the town centre chose the deserving cause.

Launched in 2014, the awards have already made a difference to more than 170 local communities across the UK. Selected by local Vodafone staff and aimed at supporting local causes with a £1,000 donation, the money has been used to help support everything from new equipment for soup kitchens and day centres for the elderly to helping people with disabilities to take part in sporting activities.

Bournemouth Hospital Charity works to enhance care and treatment for patients in the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals. It provides both hospitals with additional facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and resources for NHS staff.

The charity has raised money to fund everything from the refurbishment of the Emergency Department with a new children’s waiting area, to funding a new CT scanner, to the creation of the Orchard Garden as a relaxing area for patients, visitors and staff.

Maria Tidy, the charity's senior corporate fundraiser, said: “We are most grateful for this support, the £1,000 is going to help us massively in our funding of a new Mini MRI Scanner, which unlike an MRI is designed to scan limbs rather than the whole body – making it much more comfortable for patients.”