FORMER Foreign Secretary William Hague has added his support to an ambitious bid to raise £2m to provide a MRI scanner to a North Yorkshire hospital.

The Richmond MP visited the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton after the appeal passed the half-way mark.

Launched earlier this year by the Friends of the Friarage and South Tees Hospitals Charity, the appeal hopes to reach its target by the end of 2015.

An extensive campaign of fundraising events, donations and help from local businesses has seen donations reach the halfway stage.

Mr Hague said: “This is a very important project that I am delighted to support and try to help in my final months as an MP.

“It is a continuation of some of the really good fundraising work undertaken in this area over the years.”

An essential piece of equipment, the scanner is used to diagnose a wide range of health conditions that affect organs, tissue and bone.

Friends of the Friarage chairman Dr Upendra Somasundram said: “We are very grateful to Mr Hague for giving up his time and helping us with this project, but there is a lot of hard work left to do.”