A MALVERN Gazette reader who subscribes to the Talking Newspaper for the Blind is among those who are making the paper’s Ease The Pain campaign such a success.

The appeal was launched in support of a drive by the Friends of Malvern Community Hospital to raise £60,000 for a vital new scanner.

The friends are aiming to buy an imaging device for a new pain clinic at the hospital.

The audio version of the Gazette has kept visually-impaired people informed about what’s going on in the town for decades.

A team of volunteers produces a recording of all the major news stories and features, including letters and obituaries, from each week’s paper, which are then distributed to 100 or so subscribers.

And because Maureen Williams, secretary of the Friends, is involved with the talking newspaper, she had made sure the appeal has figured prominently there.

And her efforts have now paid off, with one listener sending in £100 after hearing about the appeal.

Mrs Williams said: “She’s a lady who’s recently spent some time in Malvern hospital and she was so impressed by the way she was treated that she wanted to help.”

Another contribution has been made by a Masonic lodge that meets in Ledbury. The Eastnor Lodge No 751 is giving £250 for the cause.

David Sparrey,the lodge’s charity steward, said “I know Maureen and her husband, and when I met them recently, she was telling me all about the appeal.

“The appeal is for a very good cause and I’m delighted that we are able to help.

“I will be approaching my fellow charity trustees in the Malvern-based Masonic lodges and urging them to support the appeal ” The appeal has now raised £21,000 towards its target of £60,000.

Stewart Messer, chief operating officer of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We are delighted the readers of the Malvern Gazette have responded so magnificently to the campaign. The new image intensifier will benefit the people of Malvern.”