Nearly £30,000 has been raised towards a multi-million pound breast cancer centre at Ipswich Hospital.

The creation of the centre will mean patients accessing the services they need in one place instead of changing and moving across the hospital site.

East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust (ESNEFTs) lead breast cancer nurse said each bloom helps them move "one step closer to a new centre".

And there are only 88 of the blooms left since the appeal launched in October.

Kim Collingridge said: “Every penny really does count, and it’s fantastic knowing so many of the blooms have sold and will help raise funds towards the breast care centre.

"A new centre will bring all the services together, have dedicated spaces for diagnosis, for men, young people, and those who need treatment in one place. Also having a quiet garden space for patients and their families will make such a big difference.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has donated towards the appeal so far - we really couldn’t fund the new centre without all the support.”

The 1,000 metal flowers were planted on the hospital grounds last month.

Suffolk Ironworks created the flowers for Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity's Blossom Appeal which is £850,000 from its goal for the new centre.

It is the latest in a four year campaign to raise £5.3m in total for the one stop breast cancer centre.

The hospital sees more than 13,000 women each year for routine screening with 300 referred every month by their GP.

The final design includes quiet spaces for patients receiving their diagnosis, areas for young people and male patients, as well as a garden area.

Allison Chaplin, general manager for breast services at ESNEFT, said: “The demand for services is increasing all the time, as we are better informed about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

"As well as developing the new breast care centre, we’re developing services for patients, such as our new breast pain clinic we’re launching soon. We want patients to be able to get the right help at the appropriate place when they need it.”

To pick up one of the remain blooms visit https://colchesteripswichcharity.org.uk/our-events/blooms/