A VETERINARY practice is celebrating a landmark in its bid to raise £10,000 for a specialist piece of equipment.

Stanhope Park Veterinary Practice, in Darlington, has reached the £2,000 mark in its fund raising appeal to raise money for a video endoscope, which would be the only one in the area.

The equipment is vital to help diagnose conditions without the need to operate. Once the practice has the endoscope, patients at other practices in the region can be referred there, instead of having to travel out of the area.

The appeal was launched by Jill Crawford, one of the practice's clients, whose dog, Jade, is suffering from cancer.

Jade had to be taken out of the region to a referral practice for a crucial procedure involving a video endoscope.

The biggest donation so far has come from the Darlington Pet Dog Training Association, which raised £1,000.

Other fund raising events planned for the future include a cheese and wine evening, a sponsored dog walk, and dog-training days.

Helen Geldard, practice manager, said: "We are delighted that so many people are supporting us in our appeal to raise £10,000 for the video endoscope."

Ms Crawford added: "In a town the size of Darlington it is essential for an endoscope to be available nearby, and we are well on the way to achieving that.

"The variety of fund-raising activities our supporters are taking part in is fantastic and it is great to see how dedicated people are to raising the money."