HUNDREDS of tiny babies in the North East will be given a better chance of survival after thousands of pounds was donated by Procter and Gamble.

More than 400 workers at the company’s manufacturing plant in Seaton Delaval raised £3,000 for Newcastle-based charity Tiny Lives.

The money contributed to a state-of-the-art ventilator worth £28,000 for the special care baby unit at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), which will help to assist the breathing of more than 150 premature babies every year.

Dr Martin Ward Platt, consultant pediatrician at the RVI and chair of Tiny Lives, said: “We are very grateful to P&G for their generous contribution which has helped us to purchase this life-saving piece of equipment.”