Team needs equipment

But they need more equipment. That is why a group of local "petrol-heads" are planning their most ambitious fund-raising event to date.

The home-care team's aim is to prevent the children having long stays in hospital by treating them at home.

Vital life-saving monitors and equipment are frequently in use by the team, based at the Kipling children's ward at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings.

They include machines to measure a child's blood pressure, oximeters which record how much oxygen there is in the blood and Apneo monitors to check babies' heart-beat.

For young babies who have breathing difficulties, the Apneo monitors, give parents the reassurance of being alerted by an alarm should their baby stop breathing while asleep.

Sadly, there are always more children requiring such home nursing care. Thanks to the support of the local Community Nurses this care can be offered. But more equipment is needed to cover the increasing demand.

Resources are so stretched that the service has a "wish list" which includes:

*Po2 machine costing 2,500 each

*Blood pressure machine at 1,800

*Apneo baby heart-beat monitor at 600

Now Bexhill-based 1066 Cruisers Rod and Custom Car Club, which has a long tradition of aiding Kipling Ward is hoping that this year's car show will be something special. The club has booked a site at Horn's Corner (the Horse Show Ground on the B2204 Catsfield-Battle road) in Catsfield for Mid-Summer Picnic Car Show on Sunday, open to the public from 10am.

The Cruisers' annual show usually pulls in exotic hot rod and custom car entries from all over the country and abroad plus motor cycles and drag racers.

To achieve their target and buy the nurses' wish-list, the 1066 Cruisers need to raise as much as possible - and that means attracting maximum entries, sponsorship and donated prizes plus a bumper crowd.

They are staging a grand charity auction tomorrow evening have been looking for sponsors and donations of auction prizes. Further details and tickets are available by calling Scott on (01424) 893674. More information is available by visiting the club's 1066cruisers.com website.

The children's home-care nurses are so delighted with the Cruisers' campaign that they have offered to attend the event.

The event is attracting some major sponsorship including trophies from the House of Hastings and a cricket bat and squash racket from manufacturers Gray-Nicholls of Robertsbridge, who are celebrating their 150th anniversary.

Anyone else wishing to donate is asked to contact Scott on 01424 893674.

As part of the Saturday lunch-time cruise which is a customary feature of the weekend, entrants will be calling in at The Mermaid functions suite in Bexhill, where generous licensee Melanie Boswell, has pledged 250 towards the appeal.