A couple who have raised huge sums to make life on a children’s ward more comfortable for patients have received a special thank you.

Children’s ward staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital surprised Clare and Ally Brown for an item which is due to be screened on The One Show tonight at 7pm.  

The couple set up Lauren Brown Fund – which has raised £50,000 in the last eight years – in memory of their daughter who died of a rare type of bone cancer known as Ewings Sarcoma in February 2010.

Clare told how she was invited to the hospital for an interview on the ward’s work – but was surprised to find out the item was to celebrate the fund.

She said: “It was just a lovely gesture, a lovely thought. I think that anybody who’s related to any charity in any way does it for a personal reason – you’re connected to a charity somehow.

“I will carry with what I do for the charity regardless of the praise and recognition. I will carry on because it has a positive impact on the ward.

“It’s so touching and it’s very humbling because I can run a charity, I can organise an event, but without the support of the people who come to the events, the charity doesn’t continue.

“I’m quite humbled that I gained the recognition when it’s thanks to the people who support the ward.”

The fund – which came about because of Lauren’s wish to help the ward – has attracted donations from a host of fundraising events.

It has been used to fund a wide range of extras for the ward including the purchase of a large number of televisions, DVDs and a Gameboy to keep the children entertained.

In order to support parents when they stay with their child, the fund has been used to purchase fold-up beds so that parents who have to spend a few nights on the ward are able to get some rest when their child sleeps _ and then is better able to cope with a sick child.

Equipment has also been purchased for babies and toddlers to help make their stay more manageable.

Mrs Brown added that no amount of money the charity could raise would ever repay the gratitude and respect for Maelor children’s ward nurses – who Lauren called her ‘Blue Angels’ – and others nationwide.

Emma Cunnah-Newell, pay specialist at the Maelor, said: “We were delighted to welcome the BBC’s One Show to the children’s ward.

“It was a pleasure for the team to thank Clare and her family for all the funds they have donated towards the children’s ward in memory of their daughter Lauren.”

The One Show item will also feature several former patients from the hospital, thanking staff for their efforts.