A fundraising farming auction is being planned to support a \u00a35m appeal for a new cancer treatment centre.<\/p>\n
Farmers have been invited to donate livestock or make a cash donation at the event on 7 April, which will be held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Halls auction centre in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.<\/p>\n
Money raised will go to Lingen Davies Cancer Support, which said the new facility in Telford would “double the capacity of chemotherapy provision” in the area.<\/p>\n
The group launched their Sunflower Appeal to raise the money last year<\/a> and said it was their biggest appeal to date.<\/p>\n The new facility will have up to 30 chemotherapy bays, outpatient clinics, a specialist urology investigations unit and a lung diagnostic centre, the charity said.<\/p>\n Currently patients from Telford have to travel to the Lingen Davies centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for treatment and a spokesperson said the new centre would allow them to get treated closer to home.<\/p>\n The idea for the auction came from Stuart Ashley, a sheep and beef farmer from Cothercott, near Shrewsbury, who is also a member of the fundraising committee.<\/p>\n Ashley said he would donate a hogget to the auction and hoped other farmers would get behind the event.<\/p>\n “Most farmers will either have lost someone to cancer or have a family member or friend who has been successfully treated or is currently having treatment,” he said.<\/p>\n The auction was “a chance for us farmers to all work together to do something good,” he added.<\/p>\n Ashley said nobody would be under pressure to donate but “every little bit helps”.<\/p>\n Halls director James Evans said: “This is our chance to give back to enable the charity to support even more patients.”<\/p>\n Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links