Workers at the Yorkshire Building Society in Bradford have rolled up their sleeves to give blood to help a little boy with leukaemia.

A blood donor session at the headquarters in Rooley Lane on Friday attracted dozens more donors than usual after employee Victoria Broxup rallied colleagues in an attempt to help her nephew, Billy.

The four-year-old suffers from acute myeloid leukaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. It had been hoped that his sister, eight-year-old Amy-Jo would be a match but she isn't. He needs to be given blood on a regular basis to keep him going.

As Billy undergoes chemotherapy and radiotherapy at St James's Hospital, Leeds, his best chance lies with finding a match on the national bone marrow register.

His parents, Claire Broxup, 26, and her partner James Farndale, 22, of Blackshaw Drive, Buttershaw, are realistic about the chances of finding a match.

So her sister Victoria, of Buttershaw, boosted the youngster's chances by giving blood herself, along with 143 workers at the building society. Penny Richardson, of the National Blood Service, said: "Normally we get 104 units from the Yorkshire Building Society every time they carry out a blood donor session.

"This time we got 137 units from 144 donors. This is enough to keep Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust going for 17 days. Victoria tells me that Billy benefits every time he has blood, so it will be helping children like him.

"Victoria has also been encouraging people to join the bone marrow donor register and 38 people have registered today, increasing the chances of everyone waiting for a bone marrow transplant to find a positive match."

Victoria said: "I have been amazed at the response. They even had to turn people away because there weren't enough appointments. People have also put their names on the bone marrow register which is great. If you don't try, you don't know."