The Lord Mayor of Bradford was celebrating today after the appeal he launched in memory of his premature twin babies smashed the £100,000 mark.

Councillor Tony Miller and his wife Elsie chose the special care baby units at Bradford Royal Infirmary and Airedale General Hospital, Steeton, as the target for their appeal after their own twins died 38 years ago.

And the couple say that through their own heartache they have enabled other parents to come to terms with their grief.

"It's fantastic news and we know now that both hospitals will get the equipment and the funds that they wanted," said Coun Miller.

"The best thing about this appeal is that it has been driven by ordinary folk on the street. It's been the mums and dads, the grandmas and the granddads who have been organising the events.

"A lot of people who have lost children have been contacting us, wanting to do things to raise money.

"Because we have opened our hearts it has allowed them to talk about their own grief and many of the parents are talking about their loss for the first time.

"It is difficult to choose a highlight of the appeal but one of the most poignant moments was the service that we held for bereaved parents at Christmas time.

"Families filled in a Christmas card for the children they had lost and it gave them the chance to grieve and move on."

The appeal is now virtually certain to reach its target of £110-£120,000 after a £10,000 donation from Bradford-based Sovereign Health Care.

A year of events included a variety show at St George's Hall, a dinner and dance organised by the Bradford Chamber of Trade, a brass band concert, a Valentine's Day ball and a fashion show.

The cash will pay for a state-of-the-art scanner at Bradford Royal Infirmary which will stop premature babies having to be transferred to Leeds and extra facilities for the Baby Unit Regional Parents Society (BURPS) and Airedale Hospital.

Ann-Marie Allen, senior sister on the Neo-Natal Unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary and chairman of BURPS, said: "We're very excited that the appeal has reached its target and its down to a lot of hard work and help from people.''

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