A baby and children's hospice now has vital oxygen therapy equipment thanks to a donation by medical gas and services provider Air Products.

Ze's Place, in Normanby, Middlesbrough, needed an oxygen concentrator, a machine that produces oxygen for patients with breathing difficulties.

When Peter Milburn, pharmacist and vice-chairman of Guisborough and District Round Table, found out, he contacted Dave Craggs at the company.

Mr Milburn said: "I realised that an oxygen concentrator would be better for the hospice than oxygen cylinders, so I contacted Air Products, who have been supplying this equipment in the region for more than a decade. They even provided smaller masks especially designed for children and a low flowmeter that needs to be fitted to the machine when used by very small children and babies."

The equipment, worth about £2,000, can be used to treat patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis or to support babies with under-developed lungs.

The donation follows a contribution of £3,500 by Mr Milburn and his colleagues at the Round Table raised through a sponsored walk and other activities.