A regional daily has given front page backing to a £1m bid to help children needing heart surgery.

The Yorkshire Evening Post’s ‘Have a Heart’ campaign aims to help Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Fund raise seven figures over the course of this year.

The cash will be used to support the work of the dedicated team at Leeds General Infirmary’s congenital heart unit.

It will go towards medical equipment such as a baby pod incubator, and also support accommodation so families can stay together during treatment.

YEP editor Laura Collins said: “Over the years many, many families -not only from Leeds but across Yorkshire and beyond – have relied on the lifeline that is the children’s heart surgery unit.

“They have spent some of their darkest days clinging to hope with the support of the fantastic team around them as their children fight for survival.

“And it is thanks to that team’s skill and dedication that hundreds of children have been given that second chance at life.

“These families know all too well the difference the unit has and continues to make as well as the city of Leeds which really does have a special place in its heart for the unit and the team who are at the very heartbeat of its operation.

“So now is the time to say thank you – especially in the run-up to Wear Red Day. Let’s come up with a million reasons to express our gratitude and give back to the unit which has saved so many lives over the years.”