AN APPEAL for patients to return items of linen taken home from East Lancashire's hospitals has fallen on deaf ears.

Earlier this month it was revealed that bedsheets, blankets and nighties taken home after hospital stays were costing £80,000 to replace each year.

East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, which runs the area's main hospitals, launched a laundry amnesty last month.

But Lynn Fort, laundry services manager for Blackburn hospitals, said: "The appeal for patients to bring back items of linen they may have acquired in hospital has resulted in only a few being returned."