HEALTH chiefs and civic figures today welcomed the news that Burnley is to get its own £1million "super scanner" and said: "This will make a real difference to people's lives."

The new magnetic resonance imaging scanner, which is a vital aid to the diagnoses of illnesses, will be housed at Burnley General Hospital. It will be used by thousands of people across Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.

The news means patients who have to travel to Blackburn Royal Infirmary will no longer have to make the trip.

Chairman of Burnley Community Health Council Don Pacey said it was "magnificent news".

He added: "It will make such a difference to people's lives and cut out a lot of travelling for people in this area."

The Mayor of Burnley, Coun Gordon Birtwistle, added: "It's wonderful news. Anything that improves health services in Burnley has to be a good thing.

"It will speed up the process for patients and it's a welcome addition to an already excellent hospital."

The celebrations come after Burnley Health Care NHS Trust revealed it has been allocated £630,000 of New Opportunities fund cash for the scanner and added a further £450,000 from trust funds to pay for a new building to house the equipment.

Patients from across East Lancashire have been using Blackburn's MRI scanner since 1998, when it was bought and installed at Blackburn Royal Infirmary after the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's £1million appeal. The scanner is expected to deal with 1,500 patients in the first year of operation, increasing to 2,000 in the following year and 2,500 in the subsequent years.

It will be used to diagnose a wide range of illnesses, including orthopaedic conditions and various forms of cancer.

Design work has been completed for the MRI suite and the work will be put out to tender in mid-May.

The scanner will be installed by the end of September and will be fully operational by December 2003 at the latest.

Director of facilities at the trust Geoff Summers said: "This is a major advance in the provision of modern, sophisticated diagnostic services here at Burnley.

"It will be of major convenience to patients living locally.

"The support of the New Opportunities Fund has been paramount in enabling the trust to achieve this latest development."

Mr Pacey added: "I was involved in the fund-raising for the Blackburn scanner and now we are to have one in Burnley too, I am absolutely delighted.

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I look forward to it being in operation and welcome it wholeheartedly.

"It's important because it will give a better health service for people in the Burnley area."