The Press at York has celebrated the first birthday of its Guardian Angels Appeal – to raise £300,000 for a new high dependency unit at York Hospital’s children’s ward.

To mark the anniversary, the newspaper had a giant cake created by a local baker and pieces were sold to shoppers at a local designer outlet.

Press staff later rattled fundraising buckets at York City FC’s home game against Cambridge United and raised £750 to bring the appeal total to date over £91,000.

In the fundraising year, readers have responded magnificently to the appeal. A group of local businesses got together and staged a charity ball which raised £10,000; while a team of staff from a local estate agency raised £11,000 by completing the famous Three Peaks Challenge.

There have also been some more weird and wonderful efforts – with one pub raising hundreds of pounds by asking its customers to pay to a Guardian Angels swear box every time they uttered a profanity.