TWO support group members have fundraising all stitched up.

The Breathe Easy Aire Valley duo has raised £500 for Airedale Hospital's new Emergency Department by sewing items and selling them online and through friends and family.

"We are passionate about supporting anything to help respiratory illness," said Wendy Harris, who was diagnosed with lung cancer last year (2014) and launched the initiative with colleague Pauline Wood.

"We started off by sewing small items and selling them on eBay in August last year and have been surprised at how much money we've raised.”

Their donation will go towards buying a ventilator machine.

Dr Meg Crossley, consultant in emergency medicine at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This piece of equipment lets us support patients' breathing when simple oxygen isn't enough.

"It is an alternative to a traditional ventilator with a tube in the windpipe. Instead, it uses a tight-fitting face mask and is used with the patient awake.

"It can avoid the need for the patient to be on the intensive care unit, as it can safely be used in the emergency department or on an ordinary ward. It is also much easier to wean the patient off this equipment, than off a ventilator, when their breathing improves."

Breathe Easy Aire Valley meets at the Hub in Steeton on the first Wednesday of every month. Call 01535 213016 for further information.