Stepping Stones Appeal has raised cash for the spinal injuries unit at Pinderfields Hospital for around 19 years. Charity staff have raised more than £3.5m to buy physiotherapy equipment for patients, helping them live with injuries to the neck or back which can leave them paralysed.

And they are keen to make sure a spinal injuries centre at the new hospital, which is expected to be built by 2010 at Pinderfields, is kitted out with the latest technology.

New equipment will include ‘gait analysis’ technology, which enables physiotherapists to monitor and correct patients’ limb functions.

Husband and wife team Linda and Colin Stanhope fundraise for the appeal by securing donations from local businesses. The couple work from an office in their home at Cromwell Place, Ossett.

Mrs Stanhope said: “We are hopeful of supplying some fantastic equipment which will help the new unit become a centre of excellence. There is a lot of equipment which can help people with spinal injuries which can’t necessarily be paid for by the NHS.”

She thanked Yorkshire Building Society for an £860 donation which recently boosted the appeal.

The cash came from the society’s charitable foundation, and will pay for specialist cushions to make wheelchairs more comfortable for users.

The centre provides regional care for Yorkshire, Humberside and parts of Lancashire and Lincolnshire, and admits around 80 patients each year.

Medical staff work with the patients, usually aged between 17 and 35, to help them live with injuries caused by traffic accidents, sporting accidents or accidents at work or in the home.