Black Sabbath star’s raffle raises £50,000 for hospital appeal

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi said a raffle to win one of his guitars raised £50,000 for a hospital appeal.

He said the sum was an “incredible achievement” and thanked everyone who had taken part.

The raffle supported Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital, which is seeking £150,000 to refurbish its cancer treatment centre.

The musician, who was diagnosed with lymphoma at Heartlands, said he wanted to give back to the staff by organising the event.

The refurbishment work at the cancer unit will include buying special chairs for chemotherapy patients.

Referring to when he had his first appointment, Iommi said “the more comfortable you can make the patient, the better”.

“I know when I was in, they treated me so well, everybody was so nice, the nurses were nice, everybody was great and that’s what you need.

“To have the right environment means a hell of a lot because you’re sitting there a while being treated.”

The guitar, a mahogany Gibson SG, was one Iommi said he had owned for a while and used at home.