THE Fylde Coast's biggest-ever cash appeal was launched on Wednesday (June 12) with all the razzmatazz of showbusiness and the big top.

Organisers of a bid to raise £1.9 million for a new state-of-the-art scanner for Blackpool Victoria Hospital chose the Tower Circus as the launch venue.

And civic dignitaries from all three boroughs, as well as stars from local shows, saw circus performers go through their paces before cheque presentations of more than a quarter of a million pounds got the appeal off the ground.

Star attraction was Roly Poly Mo Moreland (pictured), who was invited into the ring to perform a percussion act with circus clown Laci.

She then joined other celebrities, including Tracy Dawson and Summer Holiday stars Clare Buckfield and Ross King, to donate funds raised by local companies and individuals to Bryan Carr, chairman of the scanner's board of trustees.

He said: "This is a wonderful start to our appeal and I hope we can continue to generate the funds we need."

The money will provide and maintain a state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner, giving early diagnosis to a whole range of diseases.

Appeal spokesman Dr Ramesh Gandhi explained to the assembled crowd: "The scanner will take us into the next millennium. It gives excellent views into both soft and hard tissues without radiation or side effects."

He added later: "It will allow us to diagnose cancers, heart problems, joint problems - there is no end of benefits."

The appeal was first launched privately in January and got off to a good start with a third of the target raised.

This week's public launch bumped up the total even more but Brian Cartmell, whose company Cartmell Public Relations is promoting the appeal, admitted they still had a long way to go.

"Raising £2 million is not going to be easy," he said, "but this is just the beginning and there are a lot more events to come.

"The scanner is something which we could all benefit from."

His thoughts were echoed by Tracy Dawson, whose husband Les had done so much to raise money for the hospital's previous CT scanner.

She commented: "At the moment people have to travel to Manchester or even London, so it will be wonderful to have the equipment here in Blackpool.

"I am going to do all I can to follow in Les's footsteps and raise money for this appeal."

And it was left to Dr Gandhi to sum up the hopeful mood of the launch by saying: "In the words of a very wise clergyman the word beginning is full of good energy. The best way to get something done is to begin - it is truly amazing what you can accomplish. This is our beginning."

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