Darlington paid its own colourful tribute to the UK's breast cancer sufferers.

One thousand pink balloons were released by staff and patients at Darlington Memorial Hospital to signify the 41,000 women and 300 men that are diagnosed with the illness each year.

It was organised by Lodestone Patient Care as part of a national event for the Wear It Pink campaign.

Staff from the healthcare company wore pink and encouraged visitors and patients to do the same, as well as donating £2 each to the Breast Cancer Campaign.

The charity aims to raise £2.1m to be invested into research that will aid the fight against breast cancer.

This research is vital with one in nine women in the UK developing the illness in their lifetimes, although things are on the up with on average 77 per cent of sufferers surviving five years after diagnosis.

Patrick Byrne, managing director of Lodestone Patient Care, said: "Wear It Pink Day is a critical day in the calendar for breast cancer awareness and Lodestone Patient Care is a proud supporter of the event.

"The money raised drives awareness of this disease and we know from our clinical experience that greater awareness saves lives thanks to earlier diagnosis.