STAFF at York council have donated £6,000 for the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at York Hospital thanks to the generosity of new parents in the city.

Parents registering a birth are offered a folder in which to keep their new baby’s birth certificate.

The folders are supplied free to the office so that every penny of the donations for them from the public goes towards supporting SCBU’s work with ill or premature babies.

The Register Office team, which also offers a death registration service at York Hospital Bereavement Suite and attends a local Sure Start centre to register births, has raised over £39,000 in the last decade.

Amanda Sykes, York Register Office Manager said: “We are delighted that our partnership with the Special Care Baby Unit is continuing to help ill and premature babies across the city.

"This is only made possible through the generosity of our visitors so I would like to thank everyone who has donated. Through our work we get a glimpse into the brilliant work of the Special Care Baby Unit so to raise over £35,000 in the past decade is amazing.”

Sister Beth Howarth from the Special Care Baby Unit said: “We are unbelievably appreciative of this generous gift and would like to say a massive thank you. Donations of any size allow us to go that extra mile for our families at what can be a difficult time. This wonderful donation will allow us to purchase additional equipment which otherwise would not be able to happen; so thank you.”