The Heart of England Co-operative Society’s caring Helping Hearts has donated £1,000 to help breast cancer patients in Nuneaton.

The cash has gone to the Breast Care Unit at the town’s George Eliot Hospital and will be used to buy a specialist piece of equipment.

A sentinel lymph node probe is used for the detection of lymph node involvement.

Jean Whittaker MBE, Fundraising Co-ordinator at the hospital, said the donation would help benefit many patients.

She said: “On behalf of the George Eliot we would like to thank the Heart of England Co-operative Society for their kind gesture. The donation has come at the right time to help our specialists replace an important piece of equipment which will be of benefit to breast cancer patients in Nuneaton and the surrounding areas.”

The Breast Cancer Unit was one of six charities and causes chosen by Society members in a recent survey to receive a share of £10,000.

With the largest number of votes the Alzheimer’s Society was awarded £5,000. The remaining share of the cash was equally distributed between the Breast Cancer Unit and the four next popular charities - Motor Neurone Disease, RNIB, Diabetes UK and MIND.

The charity survey was conducted through the 2009 Members’ Calendar amongst the 70,000 registered members of the Heart of England Society throughout Coventry, Warwickshire and south Leicestershire, who were then invited to vote for six charities to receive a slice of the cash.

The Society pledged the cash from its Helping Hearts Awards scheme, which uses the profits of tobacco sales to distribute among charities, worthy causes and community projects.

The Calendar also contained vouchers worth hundreds of pounds of savings in the Society’s Food, Non-Food and Travel stores, including 10 per cent off one food shopping visit above £5 each month, alongside attractive local scenes.

Membership of the Society is open to anyone aged 16 or above living in the Society’s trading area, with application forms available from all of the Society’s Food and Non-Food stores across the region.

Ali Kurji, Chief Executive of the Heart of England Co-operative Society commented:  “Breast cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the UK with over 140 patients being diagnosed with the disease on a daily basis.

“This specialist piece of equipment plays a vital role in helping that diagnosis and we are therefore delighted to be able to support the George Eliot Hospital with this donation.”

Since its launch in 2000 the Helping Hearts scheme has pledged £486,000 to charities and worthwhile causes throughout the Society’s trading region.