SENIOR Lancashire nurses are to attend a special service to commemorate the life of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.

Margaret Golder, acute capacity manager, and Ruth Grimley, senior discharge co-ordinator, at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, have been invited to the event, organised by the Florence Nightingale Foundation, after being awarded a prestigious scholarship by the Foundation to conduct research into aspects of nursing.

The pair from the Trust, which runs Chorley and South Ribble, Royal Preston and Sharoe Green Hospitals, will also remember nurses who gave their lives in the Second World War while caring for the sick and wounded,

It is expected that around 2,000 people will attend the commemoration service, including Government ministers, nurses, midwives and health visitors.

Margaret said: "We are honoured to be attending the service which marks the life of the nursing profession's most famous member.

"Florence Nightingale is an ideal role model and an inspiration to many nurses."

The service will be held at Westminster Abbey on the date of Florence Nightingale's birthday, which is May 12.