BABIES through to teenagers will benefit from new state-of-the-art hearing equipment thanks to the tireless fund raising efforts of husband and wife Peter and Alison Vinden.

The couple are founders of the Bolton Children's Hearing Impaired Charities and next week they will hand over a £27,500 donation to Halliwell Health centre's Hearing

Assessment Centre.

The donation takes their fund rasing to more than £50,000 since the charity was set up in 1998.

Mr and Mrs Vinden became involved as their daughters, Chloe, aged 10, and Tara, seven, were born with hearing impairment.

Their parents, who had been actively involved with fund raising for hearing impaired charities since 1994, decided they wanted to give something back.

So with friends Connor O'Beirne and Pauline Brophy, they formed the CHIC to raise funds for research into children's hearing impairment, to raise the profile and aspirations of hearing impaired children and to educate and support parents in Bolton and the North-west.

And the sportsmen's dinners, fund raising balls, theatre productions and other events followed..

As the Bolton centre had done so much work for Chloe and Tara, the Vindens decided they too should get a slice of the money raised.

On Tuesday they will hand over the cash which will pay for more vital equipment to help staff detect hearing impairment in children at an early age.

The new purchases will include portable Auditory Brainstem Response equipment, which will help diagnose hearing loss in children of all ages and particularly in newborn babies, and also a supply of the latest in digital hearing aids.

Mr Vinden said: "We are fortunate to have such a hard working service in Bolton.

"Staff at the centre go out of their way to help patients, families and carers.

"I would like to say a special thank you on behalf of everyone who continues to benefit from such a high standard of care, especially my two girls."

The couple have spent hours attending conferences all over the country, researching new technologies via the Internet and raising awareness in the North-west of hearing impairment issues.

Mr Vinden also sits on Bolton Primary Care Trust's Audiology Steering Committee, which actively involves parents in the development of local services.

Mr Vinden, who also runs a quantity surveying company, added: "There are many obstacles that a hearing impaired child will face in his or her life. The greatest challenge, however, is overcoming the common misconception that children like Chloe and Tara need to limit their educational aspirations.

"My advice for other parents in Bolton with hearing impaired children is, set the same educational targets for your child as other parents set for theirs.

"Sure, it may be a little harder for your child, but he or she will get there with a mixture of your patience and the best in local care.

"I'm sure that staff at the Children's Hearing Assessment Centre would agree!"

Dr Pat Scampion, clinical director for children's services, said: "We are extremely grateful to CHIC for supporting the work of the Children's Hearing Assessment Centre.

"This terrific donation has enabled the department to purchase the latest equipment, which will improve the service we offer to children and young people who come to us with hearing impairment."