IPSWICH postmen have made a special delivery today - £500 towards the Evening Star's Lifesaver appeal.Staff from the Royal Mail office in Commercial Road have raised the cash through playing pool.

IPSWICH postmen have made a special delivery today - £500 towards the Evening Star's Lifesaver appeal.

Staff from the Royal Mail office in Commercial Road have raised the cash through playing pool.

The cost of a game of pool is 20p but it has soon added up, and has been added to by money raised through inter-staff competitions.

The Lifesaver Christmas appeal aims to raise £22,000 for a cardiac ultrasound machine for Ipswich Hospital's accident and emergency department.

David Roberts, letters manager, said: “We think the appeal for the ultrasound machine is a very worthy cause and will help provide the medical staff with a greater chance of helping many heart problem patients.

“It is probable that we all will be touched some way or another by such problems in our lives we are glad to help in a small way.

“We all work within the community and we are pleased to make this donation back to the community.”

The cardiac machine will help doctors diagnose acute cardiac conditions, including heart failure, and is expected to help around 1,000 people every year.

Currently, the hospital relies on older technology such as x-rays. It has other ultrasound machines in the radiology department but often A&E patients need a scan immediately and the new machine will be on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

If you would like to support the appeal, send cheques made out to Lifesaver: Evening Star Christmas Appeal 2006, to 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1AN. You can donate online at www.eveningstar.co.uk/lifesaver

n Have you thought of holding a fundraising event in aid of our appeal? Call Hazel Byford on 01473 324788, or e-mail her at hazel.byford@eveningtstar.co.uk

Members of the East of England Co-operative Society can help by quoting the dividend number 977 at the till.