A Wakefield Express appeal to raise money for a new state-of-the-art machine to beat breast cancer has topped its £160,000 target.

The newspaper launched its appeal in January last year as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, and since then readers have been taking part in fundraising events and sending in their cash for the fund.

The target was reached after a 72-year-old local woman who died of breast cancer left £20,000 in her will.

The money will now be used to install a new mammography machine at Clayton Hospital, designed to detect cancers more quickly and expose patients to lower radiation levels.

Wakefield Express acting editor Mark Bradley said: "When we launched the Breast Cancer Appeal last January, we knew the target we set the community was ambitious. But we have been astounded by the response from our readers during the past year-and-a-half.

"Money has constantly flowed into the fund, and there was never a time when failing to reach the £160,000 mark came into our thoughts.

"The most pleasing aspect of the appeal has been where the money has come from. Nearly all the cash has been given straight from the kind hearts and deep pockets of the public, and we are just grateful that there is such community spirit in the city to bring about this kind of achievement."