HEALTH bosses have appealed for a new home for a mobile screening service aimed at detecting breast cancer as early as possible.

The unit previously had a base outside the Allders furniture store in Winchester Road, Shirley, Southampton, but now needs a new site after the company went into administration. Radiographers from Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the service, are anxious to find a new base in Shirley as soon as possible.

The team is appealing for any commercial premises with spare space, perhaps in their car park, to consider housing the unit to allow it to continue providing its vital service.

Radiographer Jayne Derham said: "Our mobile screening unit plays a crucial role in helping us find and treat women who may have cancer before they develop any symptoms.

"Most cancers can be more effectively treated if they are caught early, so it is important that women take up screening opportunities.

"In Southampton alone, around 20,000 women were invited for screening last year."

The unit, 32ft by 8ft wide, would need to be sited near a three-phase electrical supply and would also need to have loos available for staff use.