SOUTH Swindon MP Julia Drown opened a new mobile breast cancer screening unit yesterday, which will operate throughout Wiltshire.

The £150,000 unit has been funded by New Opportunities money, part of a £400,000 package allocated to breast cancer services at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Ms Drown said: "It is easier for both the public and staff to use.

"It will also help them meet the Government's target of routinely screening people up to the age of 70.

"I am really pleased that this is another piece of the jigsaw that has been put into place to meet the Government's commitment to improving cancer services.

"It is good news for the people of Wiltshire."

The unit, which is staffed by two radiographers, will travel to sites throughout the county to provide easy access to women over the age of 50.

It contains the latest equipment which provides sharper X-ray images to allow specialists based at Princess Margaret Hos-pital to check in great detail for any sign of abnorm- ality.

This kind of screening is important in the battle against cancer in which early detection is vital. As many as 90 per cent of potential cancers can be detected this way.

The new unit will also be valuable in meeting the Government's new demands that routine screening should be extended to 65-70 year-old women.

The move has been welcomed by the unit, because the risk of breast cancer increases with age but it will dramatically increase their workload.

Statistics suggest that at the age of 50, a woman's risk of developing cancer is one in 56 and this increases to one in 16 by the age of 70.

The unit's superintendent radiographer Jeanne Scolding said: "The old unit was ten years old and, although adequate, it did need to be replaced.

"The new unit will be much more welcoming for the people who use the service.

"It will certainly be a much more pleasant environment for our staff to work in and we look forward in getting it going."