THIS year, Pirate FM has announced its support for the Baby and Birth appeal (BABA), set up to raise funds for a new maternity and neonatal unit at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.

Specsavers Launceston, on Broad Street is acting as an official collection point for the appeal, which calls for locals to buy and donate bears to provide all babies born in Cornwall with the best start in life.

More than 4,000 babies are born at the hospital every year, however the original wards have not been upgraded since they were built five decades ago.

The half a million pound makeover will see a new suite with a water birth pool and the neonatal unit will move to a much bigger area. There will be more space in the special care nurseries too.

The major renovations are already happening but the project needs the right equipment to care for the one in ten babies that will need extra help.

To drop off your teddy bear or to make a monetary donation visit Specsavers Launceston.