The Province of Yorkshire West Riding Freemasons has teamed up with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, to help make visits to A&E easier for patients like four-year-old Ismail Arshid from Bradford.

Provincial grand master John Clayton said: "Bradford Royal Infirmary are extremely enthusiastic about the Teddies for Loving Care (TLC) scheme, as they can see the real benefits it will bring to young patients being brought in. The teddies will be given to children on arrival for them to keep during their stay and beyond."

It is hoped the scheme – launched in Bradford yesterday – will be replicated in other major hospitals with A&E facilities in South, West and North Yorkshire.

Hospital patient services manager Moire Derrick said: "Children are very often in a lot of pain and very scared. Hopefully these teddies will help keep their mind off their ailments and the treatments that may follow."