FUNDS raised at a charity football match at Okehampton have provided patients and their relatives at an Exeter hospital with facilities to make their treatment more comfortable.

Two cheques were recently presented at the Yarty Ward of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital following a successful comic charity football match in July last year.

The match was held in memory of Laura Bennett, who died following a battle with leukaemia in 2009.

A cheque for £1,610 was presented to Yarty Ward matron Andy Jackson and sister Tracy Jackson, who also played in the match, both from the intensive care unit.

The money has been used to purchase two new reclining chairs for the unit, which will give patients suffering from cancer more comfort while awaiting their treatment.

A further cheque of £890 was presented to matron Neil Toghill from Yarty Ward. This money was used to buy a PlayStation 3, along with a number of games, new furniture and a plasma screen television, all of which have already been put to good use in the ward's teenage and young adults' room.

Carol Bennett, Laura's mother, said: 'Rather than just donating money to the ward, we actually specified the items ourselves.

'We spent a lot of time on the wards and so saw exactly what was needed. Hopefully the items will make patients and their families far more comfortable in the future.'

Dr Paul Kerr, a consultant from the ward, commented on a previous donation to purchase ophthalmoscopes.

Dr Kerr said: 'Being able to look into the back of patients' eyes is very important in haematology.

'Only recently we were able to detect that a patient's blood had become dangerously thick, which changed our treatment plan at once, because our patients have weakened immune systems and are kept in isolation.

'It is wonderful for each room to have its own ophthalmoscopes and auroscopes; we are so pleased by all the fundraising Laura's family and friends have done.'

Laura's family expressed thanks to everyone who has supported her legacy and raised such a fantastic amount to help others.