AS one of the biggest events in Darwen's history gets the green light, organisers of the Superscan prize draw are urging folk to keep those donations flooding in.

Blackburn with Darwen Council and Darwen Town Centre Association have given the event, which has caught the imagination of the people of the town, its blessing.

And while the number of prizes donated recently passed the 50 mark, organiser Ian Ashton, chairman of Darwen Superscan Appeal is pleading with folk to help bump the total up to 300.

The group are aiming to raise more than £10,000 towards the cost of the life-saving Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner which will be housed in Blackburn Infirmary.

Mr Ashton said: "The response so far has been very encouraging but it could be a lot better. They don't have to be expensive prizes but we want this to be one of the biggest events the town has ever seen.

"While we have had a lot of donations from members of the public we would like to see more shopkeepers and landlords joining in the spirit of things."

Prizes donated so far include a bumper hamper from Boots while local artist Adrienne Walsh has donated one of her prized paintings.

The draw will take place on December 13 to coincide with the popular Darren Day celebrations, and anyone interested in supporting the draw should contact Mr Ashton on 703666 or phone the Superscan Appeal office on 687146.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.