A LOVING couple have used their Golden Wedding celebrations to help support a campaign to close to their hearts.

Pat and Terry Wilson, from Darlington, asked guests to make a donation to the appeal to bring state-of-the-art MRI scanning technology to Darlington Memorial and Bishop Auckland Hospitals, in lieu of gifts – raising £530.

The couple, who were both brought up in the Denes area and have lived in Darlington all their lives, met on a night out when Pat was 20 and Terry 21.

Mrs Wilson, who served as a magistrate for 26 years, has also had four children’s books published, donating royalties to UNICEF.

She said: “We have both had MRI scans and know how useful they can be when making a diagnosis. There’s absolutely nothing we need, and we feel very fortunate to have each other, a lovely family and, of course, our health. So we thought it would be great to raise money for a cause that will benefit so many people from across Durham and Darlington in the future, and asked our guest to make a donation rather than give us a gift.

“We’re lucky enough to have a son, daughter and five grandchildren and had a fantastic evening at Darlington Golf Club where Terry has been a member for many years. We put donation envelopes on each table and our family and friends were very generous – one envelope had £100 in it.”

The appeal which is being run by the official charity of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust aims to raise £2.5m for two new scanners, which will provide much improved images.

Dr Elizabeth Loney, clinical director for radiology at Foundation Trust, thanked the couple for their generosity.

She said: “We are very grateful to Mr and Mrs Wilson for their generous donation. We want to bring the very latest in scanning technology to our hospitals and MRI scans are particularly good at looking at soft tissues. Tremendous advances in technology over recent years mean they can be enormously helpful in diagnosing cancer, heart conditions, strokes and many other health issues.

"Scans can also give doctors information that previously required the patient to undergo surgery or another invasive procedure as part of the investigation of their symptoms. Crucially, MRI scanners don’t use radiation, unlike x-rays.

"MRI scans are so useful we’re doing more of them each year. In the last year alone the number has increased by 11 per cent.”

Anyone interested in organising an event, making a direct donation or looking to volunteer should contact pat.chambers1@nhs.net or call 01325-743781.