Crochet group donates beanies to cancer patients

A crochet group has donated dozens of beanie hats to a cancer unit to help people receiving chemotherapy treatment.

Meadowbank Crochet delivered 40 of the hats to the Chilworth Day Unit at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, in Guildford, for people who had received cold cap treatment or lost their hair during treatment.

Jody Halfacre, from Farnborough in Hampshire, organised the donation and said she hoped the hats "brightened patients' days".

Halfacre said she had been "inspired by my own and my relatives' experiences of staying in hospital" to make the hats.

She added: "I launched Meadowbank Crochet to make cosy hats and provide a small source of comfort for patients in hospital."

Each hat takes about three to five hours to make, Halfacre said.

On Thursday, the crochet group also donated hats to the chemotherapy ward at Frimley Park Hospital.

Emma Masters, lead nurse for systemic anti-cancer therapy at the Royal Surrey, said the "kind and thoughtful gesture" had "definitely cheered up the day for quite a few people".

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.