'This money will help a lorra, lorra people'

Thursday's accident on the M40 near Handy Cross meant guest of honour Cilla Black arrived almost two hours late for celebrations at Wycombe Hospital, after being caught in the traffic chaos.

The Blind Date television host is patron of Scannappeal which raises money for hospital equipment and on Thursday everyone was celebrating the arrival of two new scanners paid for by Scannappeal.

While 150 appeal volunteers and fundraisers sweltered in the heat at the hospital, organisers kept in touch with Cilla by mobile phone and were able to relay her slow progress along the A40 and London Road.

Eventually Cilla looking cool and trim arrived, apologising profusely. She met and chatted to all the guests, as well as presenting surprise awards to three groups of fundraisers.

Among the award winners was the Wycombe Music Centre and five of the musicians, the brass quintet, took a welcome break after A-levels to play a selection of music by their conductor and music teacher Andy Rogers.

The Music Centre has been fundraising for Wycombe Hospital for 25 years bringing in about £2,500 each year. The young musicians have given £15,000 over 14 years to Scannappeal.

Other winners were Liz and Peter Helling of stationery company Paperchase. They raise money by getting their customers to bring back the empty ink cartridges used in their printers, for recycling. This process has raised £72,000 for Scannappeal.

The couple hit on the idea eight years ago when they visited another company which was raising money for Mencap.

The third award winners were Sid and Barbara Pilgrim, from Chesham, who have been holding fundraising sales for seven years.

"They can sell absolutely anything," said Scannappeal chairman Bryan Rigby.

Not everyone won an award but they all got a chance to meet the ebullient Cilla.

Sylvia and Frank Claydon run fundraising for the Independent Order of Foresters. Each year the group chooses a different charity and last year it was Scannappeal when £3,500 was raised via race nights, dances and sales and coffee mornings. This year the Foresters' chosen charity is Penn School.

Mick Smith, who was there in an Elvis tie, is the drummer for Billy and the Bonquas, an Elvis tribute band that has been going for 15 years and has raised £15,000 for Scannappeal. And so was Richard Croxson who ran in the London Marathon and raised £1,200.

Richard got interested in Scannappeal through his involvement with Wycombe Hospital Radio, where he did live commentaries of Wycombe Wanderers' matches, something that brought him the added bonus of three trips to commentate at Wembley twice when Wycombe won the amateur cup and once when they were in the play offs.

Introducing Cilla, Mr Rigby said together the two scanners had cost £500,000 and that had been raised in less than four years.

"It is phenomenal and a great deal is due to you," he told the crowd.

Cilla, who said she was delighted to be there, said that Scannappeal's fund raising was absolutely incredible and called for a round of applause for the staff and fundraisers and then pulled back a curtain to reveal commemorative plaques.

"This money will help a lorra, lorra people," she said.