TWO young diabetes patients will receive insulin pumps over the next few weeks thanks to the efforts of Bishop Auckland rotarians.

A fundraising campaign, which culminated in a sportmans dinner, brought in £5,000 for hospital paediatric consultant Dr Bill Lamb's appeal to buy pumps for each child in his care.

The machines, which are about the size of a small mobile phone, give patients more freedom because they can be worn all the time, releasing the drug gradually to stabilise their blood sugar levels and keep them well.

Dr Lamb launched a campaign called Run 500 Miles to buy pumps for every child in his care.

By running 3,300 miles himself and attracting a huge amount of support from different individuals and organisations, he has raised £76,000 and bought pumps for 25 children.

He collected a cheque from Bishop Auckland Rotary Club president Keith Patton at a meeting in the Park Head Hotel, New Coundon.

Dr Lamb said: "What the Rotary Club has done is tremendous.

"It will make such a difference to the children's lives."

Mr Patton said: "We only expected to raise enough money for one pump but we had a very generous anonymous benefactor at the sportsmans dinner and he made it possible for us to buy two."

The cheque presentation was Mr Patton's last duty as club president before he handed over the role to Ian Lloyd.