THE PRINCESS Royal visited Suffolk to open a state-of-the-art cancer treatment and research facility for animals.

The unit at the Animal Health Trust (AHT), in Kentford, Newmarket, has been purpose-built to treat horses, dogs and cats and is thought to be the first of its kind in Europe.

On opening the facility, HRH The Princess Royal, who is president of the AHT, said she hoped the centre would make a “real difference.”

She added: “It will improve the chances, for many animals, of beating this pernicious disease.

“Countless other horses, dogs and cats across the world with cancer, who will never be seen by an AHT clinician, will also benefit from knowledge gained from research in The Kennel Club Cancer Centre at the AHT.”

Peter Webbon, Chief Executive of the AHT, said: “2012 marks 70 years of the AHT fighting disease and injury in animals, and the addition of the Cancer Centre is a landmark achievement in our history.”

Mr Webbon said the project had been made possible by a donation from the late Tom Scott, a long-term supporter of the AHT and an interest-free loan of �1.5 million from the Kennel Club.

The first patients are expected to come through the doors in early 2013 and will have access to a linear accelerator and brachytherapy machine used in radiotherapy treatment, along with a 16-slice CT scanner to aid radiotherapy planning.