An ambitious new appeal from the Torquay Herald Express has been unveiled to raise £500,000 to help build a chest pain unit at Torbay Hospital.

The paper kicked off the campaign with a £2,500 donation following the launch at a special mayoral reception and lunch at Torquay’s Grand Hotel.

Within 18 months the Herald Express aims to reach a combined total of £1m, with the help of the hospital’s League of Friends matching readers’ donations pound for pound.

The balance of the £1.5m needed will then be provided by South Devon Healthcare Trust, which runs the hospital.

Herald Express editor Brendan Hanrahan said: “There is an acute need and opportunity for this service.

“We are at the heart of all the communities we serve and reach about 80,000 people directly every day in print or online.

“We hope we can harvest even more of their goodwill and support to benefit their own health.”

Patients with suspected heart attacks, angina or other cardiac problems will benefit from an all-in-one diagnostic and treatment centre at the new unit.

Tony Parr, the trust’s chief executive, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the Herald Express for spearheading this appeal and to the hospital’s League of Friends for supporting this massive fund-raising challenge.”

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