A medical facility at a hospice has received a welcome boost after fundraisers took part in a charity bike ride.

The facility for lymphodema sufferers at the Hartlepool and District Hospice has received a cheque for just under £6,000 following the ride through the streets of Hartlepool, which took place earlier this year.

The cheque was presented to hospice nursing team leader Hilary Sadler by Keith Thomas, former president of Hartlepool Rotary Club and chairman of the organising committee of the bike ride.

Other beneficiaries of the event arranged by the Rotary Club, Hartlepool Hospice, and Springs health club, were the Great North Air Ambulance Service and the Butterwick Hospice for Children.

The lymphodema service has provided 300 treatments during the past 12 months but the hospice plans to substantially increase the number during the next three years.

Mr Thomas said: "A great deal of effort went into the organisation of the sponsored bike ride and we are pleased that one of the hospice's important medical services will benefit from it.

"Plans are well under way for a repeat ride next summer and, hopefully, the event will now become a regular feature of the Hartlepool calendar."