Royal visitor: Princess Anne receives flowers from Nikhita Vasani, aged nine

Princess Anne opened a new cardiac catheter suite at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The Princess Royal met staff, patients and volunteers as she toured the new unit accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, Sir Paul Nicholson, the Mayor of Darlington, Coun Stella Robson, and trust chairman Tony Waites.

The unit, which began seeing patients last year, cost £1.3m, which was paid for partly by local fundraising, and also a grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Previously, patients with suspected heart problems had to travel to Middlesbrough or Newcastle to have their condition diagnosed, and faced longer waits for important tests. The unit also has the facilities for certain advanced heart treatments to be carried out, again reducing the need for patients to travel elsewhere.