Southend Hospital staff line up for charity football match

As the country is gripped by World Cup fever, staff at Southend Hospital have taken to the pitch in their third annual charity football match against Sky Athletic FC.

The game raises money for the SCBU and is organised by Marc Oxford, a Renographer at the hospital, who wanted to give something back after his own daughter spent time on the unit.

Marc, from Rayleigh, says: "My daughter Lois was born four weeks early and was taken into the SCBU as she wasn't feeding properly. Lois was there for two weeks and the staff were amazing. Now aged eight, she is full of life! We can't thank the staff enough, which is why I started this annual match."

This year's charity match, which also featured a number of stalls, DJ and a half-time singer, raised £1,050.