A PRAYER for extra dentists to bridge a gap in provision in the Lancaster area has been answered thanks to much-needed funding.

A group involving Lancaster University and St Martin's College has secured 32 graduate-entry dental trainees with eight expected to be based in the city.

The funding from the Government will see dental students in the city treating patients under the supervision of a qualified dentist in their second year of training.

It is hoped that students trained in the city will then go on to fill the gap in local NHS provision.

The four-year graduate-entry dental programme is the brainchild of a group including the University of Liverpool, University of Central Lancashire and the Cumbria Strategic Health Authority.

It aims to deliver trained dentists more quickly than the traditional five-year programme.

City MP Ben Wallace says: "This is an important scheme which if successful, could go a long way towards tackling the local shortage in NHS dental provision.

"I hope that the Government will help it to get up and running as rapidly as possible when Ministers make their final decision."