MCGILL'S owners Sandy and James Easdale have donated a more than 'fare' amount to a special charity by giving £13,000 towards vital equipment for sick and premature babies.

The Greenock-based bus company bosses handed over a cheque to the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, formerly Yorkhill, based at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan.

The generous £13,000 donation will go towards state-of-the-art equipment to help premature and sick babies.

A cheque was presented by the Easdale brothers to Kirsten Sinclair, the charity's chief operating officer, on behalf of McGill's.

Sandy said: "Our neonatal units and their medical staff do brilliant work caring for the premature and sick babies and we're delighted to make a donation that will help care for even more young lives in the west of Scotland.

"Every day, McGill's helps to take staff, visitors and patients to local hospitals so we know only too well how important these facilities are to all of us. "Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity is doing sterling work raising funds and we're delighted to offer our support, and would encourage everyone to get behind their latest appeal."

The donation will fund the purchase of a LifeStart resuscitation trolley - pioneering equipment which helps to keep babies and their families together during the first few precious minutes of life.

Charity chiefs have launched an appeal to raise £250k to support premature and sick children from across Scotland.

Chief executive, Shona Cardle, said: "We would like to thank McGill's for their very generous donation which will help us fund a state-of-the-art equipment to support premature and sick babies from across the country who are treated in Glasgow's neonatal units."

The children's hospital is used regularly by families from Inverclyde and across the bus company's network.

On Thursday, the Tele told how McGill's handed over £1,000 to Inverclyde Women's Aid, which supports women and children affected by domestic abuse locally. The cash will be used to pay for a Christmas treat.