STAFF at Cashino in Burnham-on-Sea presented Bristol Children’s Hospital with a new specialist wheelchair after months of fundraising.

The new wheelchair will be used by children affected with cancer, as service provision limits what young people can access through the NHS.

Pauline Williams, manager of Cashino in Burnham, said: “It’s so rewarding to see that our fundraising efforts are going to make such a huge difference to Bristol Children’s Hospital.

“It’s an amazing hospital run by great people and we are just happy that we can help out.”

Cashino, which operates 171 adult gaming centres across the country, is one of the main fundraisers for CHIPS, a charity set up on behalf of the casino and gaming industry, which aims to provide specialised wheelchairs for children with severe mobility problems.

Lisa Mills, lead occupational therapist at Bristol Children’s Hospital, said; “This donation from CHIPS is fantastic.

"The chair will be used by parents to help their children leave the hospital and visit home, as well as getting the children out and about once home.

"It really gives them a lot more independence and comfort.”

“Once the wheelchair is no longer required by a family, it has been designed to be re-issued and re-used by another young person.

"This means it can be used for many years to come, and help a huge number of families, having a really positive impact on the department and patients.

"We are, of course, incredibly thankful to Cashino for the donation.”

Linda Lindsay, co-founder of the CHIPS charity said: “It’s so important for CHIPS that our donors see the results of their hard work. Praesepe have been amazing, and to date have donated £1 million allowing CHIPS to provide more than 170 wheelchairs up and down the country.”