A RESTAURATEUR has donated £5,000 to Hope Hospital in Salford as a "thank you" to the two surgeons who rebuilt his wife's spine.

Chris Johnson, owner of Ramsons, invited more than 30 of his regular customers and the two doctors to an evening at his Market Place restaurant in Ramsbottom to celebrate its recent refurbishment.

Diners were asked to dig deep and make a donation to Hope Hospital's spinal unit where his wife, Ros, underwent ground-breaking treatment to rebuild her spine.

Ros (61) was diagnosed with degenerative scoliosis of the spine seven years ago and has had to undergo numerous operations, including having titanium rods bolted into her spine with four inch screws.

The procedure has left Ros's spine a solid piece of bone making movement difficult. When she contracted meningitis in part of the bone, Ros became the first person in the North West to have the infected part of her spine regrown using bone protein.

The special evening saw the money pour in for the spinal unit where lead clinician for spinal surgery Brad Williamson, and spinal consultant Saeed Mohammed, were invited to personally pick up the donation themselves.

Chris said: "They saved Ros's life and the work they did was purely remarkable. It felt wonderful to be able to give something back as a thank you for what they did and I'd like to thank my incredibly generous customers who helped raise such impressive amount of money."