A NEW man has taken over the reins of a North Yorkshire hospital radio service.

Bill Caw has been named as chairman of Harrogate Hospital Radio, succeeding David Simister.

A former regional manager with a major financial institution, Mr Caw has been a member of the society for the last three years.

"Harrogate Hospital Radio has made great progress thanks to David's enthusiastic leadership during his period of office and he will be a hard act to follow," said Mr Caw,

"I'm looking forward to playing a bigger part in a very strong team with plenty of new ideas to help us provide an even better service to patients during their stay in hospital."

Even though he has stepped down as chairman, Mr Simister will continue to play a role by acting as publicity officer.