Almost £17,000 has been raised for the breast unit at Peterborough City Hospital thanks to a ladies’ charity lunch.

City breast cancer survivor and campaigner Carol Collier organised the annual event earlier this year.

This year, the latest donation totals £16,662, inlcuding a £500 donation made by a good friend of Carol’s, Ayshea Leet.

This latest donation brings the grand total of money raised with these charity lunches to "a staggering" £100,000.

A cheque was handed over to the breast care unit by Carol alongside some of the charity lunch sponsors. 

Carol said: “I was so grateful for all the excellent care I received from everyone in the breast care unit, and really wanted to do something to give back.

 “I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people who have attended the annual lunch over the years – and to reach the £100,000 milestone this year is incredible.”

Last year's Ladies Charity Lunch raised around £12,000.

Part of the money has been used to helped to pay for a specialised tattoo machine to support patients with improving their body image, a refurbishment of the mobile breast screening van and staff development to provide a breast pain clinic in the community at Doddington Hospital in March.

Philip Fearn, charity project manager for North West Anglia Hospitals’ Charity, said: “The charity is enormously grateful to Carol for her tireless efforts in raising such a phenomenal amount.

 “We are always delighted to hear from patients and their families who are keen to raise money for a particular department or the Trust as a whole as a thank you for the excellent care they or their loved one has received.”

Carol started Ladies Charity Lunch in 2015 and has quickly made it into an important date in the business community calendar.

She was inspired to start the event after she was treated for breast cancer at Peterborough City Hospital following diagnosis from a routine mammogram in 2014.