TV PERSONALITY and sports presenter Clare Balding OBE will be opening a new Hampshire radiotherapy unit this month.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Radiotherapy Unit will be based at North Hampshire Hospital in Basingstoke.

The new purpose built building will be opened on May 13, and will help patients diagnosed with cancer in the north of the county..

A six week programme of radiotherapy treatment can mean having to visit hospital for treatment around 15 times for breast cancer or as many as 37 times for prostate cancer.

For patients in Basingstoke and the north of Hampshire, that used to mean travelling to hospitals such as Southampton or Guildford to receive those treatments, adding the stress of travel and parking when they are already feeling unwell and vulnerable.

But now the new facility will bring the vital treatment closer to home.

The famous 43-year-old broadcaster, who is originally Kingsclere in Hampshire, will be joined by the Mayors of Basingstoke and the Test Valley at the grand-opening.