TV mast worker’s high praise for Leeds hospice

Mr Megyery – a network operating engineer at Emley Moor TV mast – helped raise more than £1,000 for the Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice at Headingley by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Mr Megyery, 52, and work colleague Steve Phillips, 55, completed the 24 mile trek last month to raise more than £1,000 for the hospice.

Their employers Arqiva added £500 to make a grand total of £1,553.75 for the hospice.

And Mr Megyery thought the top of the 330m tall tower would be the ideal spot to hand over the cheque to staff at the hospice.

His mother Elaine, 71, of Morley, was taken ill suddenly last December and was being cared for at Wheatfields Hospice when she died from lung cancer in January this year.

Mr Megyery, of East Ardsley, said: “Watching my mum die was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the people at Wheatfields Hospice were absolutely amazing, dealing with both my mum’s needs and the needs of her close family in the final days of her life.

“The staff were amazing and helped me come to terms with the fact that my mum was dying. They answered my questions sensitively but honestly and helped me be there for my mum when she needed me most.

“I spent most of the last three days of my mum’s life at her side and I held her hand and kissed her face as she took her last breath.

“This was one of the hardest things I have ever done but I’m so glad I was able to do this and I couldn’t have done this without Wheatfields Hospice.”

A Wheatfields Hospice spokeswoman said: “ The money raised means that staff are available around the clock and that families can visit whenever they want.

“Steve is making it possible for this great 24/7 care to continue for other families in the area, just like the care provided to his mum.”

To donate, go to www.justgiving.com/Steve-Megyery

- The 330.4m tall Emley Moor transmitting station is the largest freestanding structure in the UK.

Its official name is Arqiva Tower, but it is widely known as Emley Moor mast.

Emley Moor has been a transmission site since the earliest days of TV.

The current tower, which was erected in 1969, is the third to be built at the site.

The first, a 135m tall tower, was erected at Emley in 1956 to provide independent television broadcasts to the Yorkshire area.

In 2002, English Heritage granted the current tower Grade II listed building status.