OUR Guardian Angels appeal has received a boost after a mystery donor sent in £1,000.

The sponsor brought a cheque into The Press office to bump up our appeal total to about £146,000, nearly halfway to our £300,000 target.

Maureen Augey, Guardian Angels project nurse at York Hospital, said the donation meant plans to create a high-dependency unit could begin to take real shape.

She said: "It's great because it's taking us to nearly the halfway mark, which is going to allow us to move forward to the next stage of our plans."

She said plans to start building works at the hospital's chi ldren's ward were now in progress.

Francine Clee, The Press assistant editor, said: "We'd like to give a warm thank you to the kind person who has made such a generous donation to our appeal. It has really helped boost our total and we are now nearly halfway to our overall target.

"We are enormously grateful to everyone who has given their time, energy and money to our campaign.

"It really will make a difference to some of the youngest members of our community who find themselves in hospital in the future."

Donations to our appeal have totalled nearly £1,500 this week.

People who attended a Burton Stone Lane School reunion dug into their pockets to make a donation, and Forest of Galtres Golf Club raised £200.

Congregation members at Stockton-on-the-Forest Methodist Church gave £30 from their Easter collection, while Leia lingerie shop raised nearly £70 after donating a pound from every underwear sale one weekend.

Elderly members of Sherburn-in-Elmet's Friendship Club gave £100, and the appeal also received two more donations from individuals.

When the high-dependency unit is up and running, it will mean many more youngsters can be treated in York, rather than being transferred further afield to cities like Leeds.

The unit would be the first of its kind in the region that could deal with youngsters arriving as emergencies.