A CANCER survivor has been rewarded for creating an innovative product to help fellow sufferers.

Enid Dunn, aged 71, spends her own cash and takes time out of her acting career to create bags specifically designed for breast surgery patients who have undergone a mastectomy operation and are dealing with the after-affects.

Mrs Dunn, who is the mother of Coronation Street star Antony Cotton, underwent a mastectomy four years ago at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

She was sent home clutching a carrier bag under her arm, which was used to drain any excess blood following the operation.

Mrs Dunn, who lives with her husband of nearly 50 years, Paul, aged 69, in Greenmount, said: “The nurses gave me the bag which was basically a carrier bag used to drain the blood and it just seemed so inconvenient.

“I had to hold on to it and simple things like going to the toilet or getting about my everyday life became more difficult.

“As a dressmaker, sewing is second nature to me so I made a little bag out of a nice material to wear over my shoulder and hide the bag in.”

When Mrs Dunn returned to the hospital to have the bag removed, the nurses praised her on the invention and said it was a great idea.

“After they told me it was a good idea, I thought why not make more for other women and since then I have made around 16 to 20 bags a month for the past four years,” she added.

“I buy the fabric at Bury Market, bring it home and wash all the chemicals off by throwing it in the washing machine, then cut it to the correct size and sew the little bags.

“I now donate 20 a month to the hospital for other women to use.”

Nurses occasionally receive donations from patients to help Mrs Dunn with the cost of making the bags.

Mrs Dunn, who volunteers for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “When the nurses hand over the cash, I write thank you cards to the ladies and sign it as ‘the bag lady’.

“The nurses will fill in their names and hand the cards over without the women knowing who I am.

“Last year I received a £100 donation and wrote back to that woman telling her she had donated enough to create 200 bags, which is truly amazing.”

Mrs Dunn was one of three winners of the Unsung Hero Awards, a national award from GoToJobBoard after being recognised as a non-medical NHS staff member who goes 'above and beyond'.

She was also shortlisted as Volunteer of the Year for Bolton NHS FT Annual Awards.

A spokesman for Bolton NHS FT said: “As a previous patient of our Breast Unit, she saw the opportunity to hand-make cloth bags to be worn over the shoulder that would carry the drain used by breast surgery patients.

“She designed and funded them out of her own pocket as a way of giving something back to the Breast Unit who had treated her.”