Sir Bobby Newcastle shirt sales aid teenage cancer unit

• The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation has donated £30,000 raised from an auction of commemorative Newcastle United shirts to a teenage cancer unit. The shirts, embroidered with the charitys logo, were worn by Newcastle players during their league match against Ipswich in September.

  The cash has now been pledged to the unit being built at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.

  Sir Bobby, from County Durham, died of cancer in July, aged 76.

  Newcastle won the match 4-0, including a hat-trick of goals from Kevin Nolan, whose number 4 shirt raised the most in the eBay auction, going for £5,400.

  The foundations donation will help fund flat screen televisions and entertainment equipment at the unit, which will treat teenage cancer patients from across the north east of England when it opens on 1 February.

  Midfielder Kevin Nolan, goalkeeper Steve Harper and the foundations head of fundraising Pauline Buglass visited the RVI to announce the contribution.

  They met 15-year-old patient Rebecca Johnson from Ashington.

  Mr Nolan said: "It was a real pleasure for myself and Steve to meet with Rebecca at the RVI.

  "Being in hospital is difficult to deal with at any age but particularly so for teenage patients.

  "The sum of money raised from the shirts we wore at the Ipswich game was phenomenal and its terrific that its being put to such a good cause.

  "We hope that patients in the unit benefit from it for years to come. "

  The foundation has raised more than £2m since it was set up in March 2008.

  Source: BBC