AN APPEAL to buy 60 fold-up beds for parents with poorly youngsters in hospital is to get help from a ballet company.

It is hoped the generous opening-night audience at the English Youth Ballet's performance of Giselle, at St George's Hall, on Friday, June 5, will dig deep to support the cause.

The stars of the ballet, which will feature 97 young dancers from West Yorkshire, including 18 from Bradford, will also be at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) on Thursday, May 28.

They will visit youngsters on the children's wards and lead a workshop for those well enough to join in. Parents, children and staff will also be given the opportunity to go watch the show's dress rehearsal for free.

The English Youth Ballet's company manager, Ben Garner, hopes the Lord Mayor of Bradford and a representative from the hospital will encourage the audience to support bucket collections for Bradford Hospitals Children's Charity.

"This will be our debut hospital appearance in Bradford, but we have done this elsewhere before.

"We hope we will be able to brighten up the wards when we visit and break up the day fort he young patients as well as help raise valuable funds for more beds so parents who want to stay with their children can do so." he said.

Hayley Collis, of the charity, added: "Beds for parents is a continuous needs but because of our new hospital wing we are going to need about 60 more. They are on our wish list. They cost about £1,000 each.

"They are not just a camp bed, they have to be very comfy to make sure he parent can get a good rest and be at eye-level with the child in the hospital bed next to them.

"Because we are restricted by space, the size of the beds is crucial. At the moment the ones we have are chairs that can be turned into beds."

She said it was important that parents had the choice to stay with their children and help them on the road to recovery.

"Once the child is reassured, their anxiety goes down and treatment will work more quickly. The bonus is everyone, both the parent and the child, can get a good night's sleep," she said

The BRI's new £28 million wing is set to transform the hospital’s children’s services and provide a state-of-the art intensive-care unit and should be ready by autumn 2016.

It will house paediatric services on level two, two adult medicine wards on level one, and a purpose-built intensive-care unit on the ground floor.

To make a donation towards parents' beds for the children's wards, either visit the charity's Justgiving page - justgiving.com/Bradford-Hospitals-Childrens-Charity - or call charity fundraiser Hayley Collis on 01274 274809.