A charity, set up in memory of two sons and which funded a new teenage unit at Derriford Hospital, has closed - having achieved its aim.

Two South East Cornwall families joined together to use money from the Kevyn and the James Jolly funds, to set up the teenage unit, on Wildgoose Ward, which was opened by Prince Charles in l994.

When the unit opened the residues of the two charitable funds, formed in l989 and l992, were pooled to become the Teenage Unit Fixit Fund, or TUFF.

Attached to Wildgoose ward is a school hospital, with specially trained staff and teachers who ensure that education is not interrupted by illness.

The school was given an Acorn computer and software by TUFF, but has expanded and has now taken on some chronically sick children who are housebound and unable to get to school at all.

To help these teenagers, and to mark the closure of the fund, TUFF earmarked £2,000 to purchase a PC, a video recorder and a Sony laptop computer for the school.

The residual money held by TUFF will now be pooled with specially earmarked resources held centrally.

Thanks to a generous additional legacy from the late Kathleen Orme of Millbrook the annual interest generated by the sum will cover replacement and repair costs, as well as specialist training for nursing staff.

The success of the teenage unit was praised by Dr Rick Jolly, of Crafthole, who is ex-Royal Navy, and his wife who works as a practice nurse at Torpoint.

They said: 'Some of the nurses have taken a special interest in the adolescent sector, and the patients themselves simply take the facility for granted. They are very happy about it.'

These sentiments were echoed by Ann Ugalde, of the Ugalde family of Liskeard. She said both families had derived a deep and lasting contentment that something positive and good had emerged from the tragedies.

She explained: 'We are very grateful, in particular, to all those people in Liskeard and South East Cornwall, and beyond, who so generously raised money and supported Kevyn's fund and the James Jolly fund, and who made this all possible.'