The charities charged with raising cash for Glasgow’s Beatson cancer centre are to join in an effort to boost fundraising.

Extra money for treatment, patient support services and extra staff will be a priority for the new Beatson Charity which has been formed by merging Friends of the Beatson and the Beatson Oncology Centre Fund.

New chief executive David Welch says much more needed to be done to raise funds.

"If you look at the Royal Marsden in London they are bringing in £12 million to £15m a year, yet in Glasgow we have the UK's busiest cancer centre and are not doing nearly enough to raise funds or the profile of the Beatson.”

The charity plans to make the Beatson one of the world's leading cancer centres and bring in funds to enhance its services.

The Beatson is the lead centre for non-surgical cancer care in Scotland and serves half of the Scottish population.