IT WILL be the first of many events – but Southampton’s new mayor started his year of fundraising by signing a special bus.

The ‘autograph bus’ has been winging its way round Hampshire collecting signatures in support of the new children’s A&E at Southampton General Hospital.

And as the £4.8million project gathers momentum, Cllr Les Harris has chosen it as one of his two mayor’s charities.

He took time out after the formal mayor-making ceremony - in his newly pressed robes and in the pouring rain - to add his signature to the bus.

The new state-of-the-art children’s unit, which will include an eight-bed observation area and 11 glass-fronted and sound proof cubicles is expected to see more than 30,000 children every year from the south.

It will be funded through £2 million raised by Southampton Children’s Hospital Charity and The Murray Parish Trust which will be matched by the government and a further £800,000 allocated by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

The Daily Echo has already helped raise nearly £40,000 with our #MatchMyMoney campaign, backed by Hampshire landowners the Barker-Mill Foundation

Last month, fundraisers reached the £1 million milestone by hitting the £500,000 mark to trigger the first government instalment of £500,000.

Dr Jason Barling, clinical lead for Southampton Children’s Hospital, said: “We are absolutely delighted and extremely grateful Cllr Harris has chosen our children’s emergency and trauma department appeal as one of his chosen charities.“It is a fantastic project led jointly by Southampton Children’s Hospital Charity and The Murray Parish Trust which will enable us to continue to provide high quality clinical care within a world-class facility.”