A flower festival and a head shave have helped to purchase two new specialist recliner chairs for the stroke unit at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

The money was raised for the My WiSH Charity, which supports the hospital, with Brenda Pentney, who is churchwarden at the tiny church of All Saints, in Little Cornard, handing over £1,000, half the money raised by the festival, and Simon Prentice, who lives in Chevington, raised £1,107 from his head shave.

One of the chairs is a recliner specifically for patients who have neurological problems affecting their sitting balance. It has back support, side support, pressure pads and reclines right back and is ideal for bed bound patients. It is on wheels so it can be moved outside and it is easier to transfer a patient to physio.

The other one is smaller and is a pull out recliner bed for patient’s families to sleep on.

Brenda, who lives in Bures, said: “One of our parishioners had been in the stroke unit and he is now doing well so we wanted to raise the money for the unit.

“We always try and donate half of the funds raised to a charity which has benefitted one of our congregation.”

And they have another flower festival coming up on May 12 and 13.

Meanwhile, Simon, who lives in Depden Road, Chevington, lost his long locks last year in aid of the stroke unit which cared for his 78-year-old mother Diana, who he used to live with and care for.

The 44-year-old consultant software engineer in Cambridge, said: “My mother (and I) spent a great deal of time in West Suffolk Hospital over the past five years. They have been a huge support for mummy-dearest and never cease to amaze me with their unerring kindness and dedication and I thought it would be lovely to give a little something back.”

His mother, who suffered from a rare illness called steroid responsive encephalopathy, spent time in St Nicholas Hospice but moved to Risby Hall Nursing Home where she died peacefully in her sleep at the end of July 2017.

Simon added: “The staff and the nurses at the hospital spent a lot of time with my mum and they are like angels so it’s just nice to do something for them.”