A generous Oadby publican has donated six televisions to an orthopaedic ward at Leicester’s Hospitals in a bid to raise the spirits of staff and patients.

Phillip Wharton, 61, who has run the Fox Inn in Oadby for the last six years with wife Bridget, spent £1,000 of his own money to buy five 24 inch flat screen TVs for ward 14 at Leicester General Hospital.

The couple also organised a raffle with the help of the pub’s regulars. The raffle’s top prize, a 32 inch flat screen television, was also donated to the hospital ward by the winner and has since been installed in the ward’s day room.

Mr Wharton, who chose to donate to this ward in particular after staying there himself, said:

“I’ve spent a large part of the last three years in and out of hospital being treated for various problems with my knees.

“The care I received on this ward was so fantastic that I wanted to do something to show my appreciation to the staff. I’d spent time on other wards and noticed that some already had TV’s, which is what gave me the idea for this donation.

Clair Hobbins, acting ward sister, said:

“It’s a great boost to staff morale when patients show their thanks for the care they received in such generous ways like Mr Wharton and his wife have. Everyone works very hard to make sure the patients are looked after, but even we can’t cure boredom so this generous donation will provide an antidote to that for future patients.”

Mr Wharton added:

“We raised £480 from the raffle which we donated to help pay for the installation costs of the TVs. I’d like to thank our regulars for their generosity in donating the 15 raffle prizes, as well as their efforts in helping us throughout the evening of the raffle.”

The Fox Inn’s next event will be the Easter pub quiz to be held over the Easter weekend and will feature cash prizes for the winners