A MAN who was known to look after his pennies has left thousands to Burnley General Hospital.

The £180,000 legacy of textile worker Thomas Harrison has been used to provide up-to-date X-ray equipment in the radiology department.

The bequest is more than twice as much as any previous single legacy to the hospital.

Mr Harrison, of Ferndale Street, Burnley, died three years ago aged 96. His wife Edna died two years earlier.

They had no children or close family.

Two plaques in memory of the couple were unveiled at the hospital by executor and friend George Crawshaw.

He said: "Thomas was known as being careful with his money but a few people will be surprised at how much he left.

"When he made his will he asked me who he should leave the money to and I suggested it might be a good idea to leave it to the hospital where it would benefit the whole community."

Mr Crawshaw was in the works department at Burnley General from 1978 to 1993.

Mr Harrison was born in Burnley and worked as a tackler until the age of 60. From then until he retired he worked as a bank messenger.

Mr Crawshaw said he was careful with his money and used it to buy houses to do up and re-sell. He benefited by the housing boom.

In the 1930s he was a batsman with Burnley Cricket Club. Some years ago burglars broke into his home and stole property including a Lancashire League championship medal. He never got it back.

Mr Harrison was also a member of St Andrew's Bowling Club.

Hospital finance director and deputy chief executive David Meakin said that with interest the legacy had amounted to more than £190,000. All clinical directors had agreed that the best way to spend the generous gift was to update the equipment in the radiology department which was used as a diagnostic tool by all the rest of the departments.

About £110,000 has been used to provide an ultrasound scanner. The improved image quality makes it easier to detect abnormalities in tissues and to detect smaller lesions which might otherwise have been missed.

Wilf Tems, service manager, said its ease of use and superb image quality ensured a quicker and more comfortable examination for the patient. Improved examination times resulted in shorter waiting times for other patients.

Another £70,000 has been used to provide a user friendly x-ray machine resulting in less wear and tear on radiographers' backs, shoulders and necks.

The easy to operate machine increased patient throughput and resulted in fewer repeat examinations reducing the radiation dose to patients.

Mr Crawshaw said: "Thomas was a quiet sort of man who kept himself to himself but I am sure he would be glad that his money is being used like this for the benefit of the community."