PATIENTS at two hospitals were being entertained around the clock at the weekend by a marathon radio broadcast.

For 60 hours, without stopping, volunteers played a series of shows, competitions and interviews to patients at Bishop Auckland General Hospital and Weardale Community Hospitals.

Auckland Hospital Radio, which recently beat 270 stations across the country to be named UK Hospital Broadcasting Association station of the year, held the weekend event to raise money to fund the continued work of the station.

It was also a celebration of its first year in the £67m hospital, built under the Government's controversial private finance initiative.

Among the items broadcast was an interview with Darlington MP Alan Milburn, his final interview as Health Secretary, and interviews with The Northern Echo editor Peter Barron and radio presenter Alan Robson.

The event was sponsored by Criterion Healthcare, which built the hospital, Patientline, which provides individual telephones, radios and televisions for patients, ISS Mediclean and the Asda supermarket chain.

Volunteers would like more sponsorship. Anyone interested can call fundraising manager Lindsay McElhone on (01388) 455452.