A life-saving children's charity based in the North-East is joining forces with the Anthony Nolan Trust to try to raise £50,000.

The Bubble Appeal, which supports the work of Newcastle General Hospital's Children's Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, is holding the joint fundraising event on Friday, May 31.

Timed to coincide with the first day of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations, the event at Brandling House, in Gosforth Park, Newcastle, aims raise £50,000.

Proceeds from the event, which will include an auction of 50 desirable items, carried out by celebrity auctioneer Jim Railton, will be equally divided between the charities.

Among the prizes donated so far is a VIP day aboard the HMS Ark Royal aircraft carrier and an item of clothing from one of the stars of Coronation Street.

The Bubble Unit is one of only two specialist centres in the UK where babies born without an immune system can be treated.

The Anthony Nolan Trust is the largest independent register of bone marrow donors in the country.

Four-year-old Alex Herbert, whose parents farm near Barnard Castle, is one of the children to benefit from the unit.

He spent eight weeks in the unit after it was discovered he had been born with the rare genetic disorder XLP, which claimed the life of his brother, Edward.

Following a transplant using bone marrow from one of his elder brothers and a course of chemotherapy he is now said to be making good progress.

l For further information about the event, or to make a donation, contact (01669) 621 222 or 0191 267 5761