A £330,000 revamp is to be carried out at a Wirral hospital that carries out a unique cancer treatment technique.

Proton therapy treatment was pioneered at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre more than 20 years ago and the Wirral hospital is still the only NHS trust in the country to use the technology on patients.

As part of the revamp trust executives have bought a Swiss built proton therapy chair – one of only three in the world.

It provides effective delivery of treatment, holding patients in place while a machine fires a proton beam into a tumour.

The new chair – constructed by a team of Swiss technicians – cost £280,000 and was part funded by charitable donations, with the remainder of the cash being met by the NHS trust.

Andrzej Kacperek, head of department, said: "It has been a privilege to build ups this service at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre over the past 24 years.

"We actually built our original chair in house when we opened the service for a project; and as technology and expertise have improved, we’ve been able to develop a truly world class service.

"This new chair and our refurbished clinic will only elevate the service we can offer."

UK patients with eye tumours deemed eligible for proton therapy are referred to Clatterbridge, which is the only NHS hospital using the technology for eye cancers.

Proton therapy is an area of increasing international interest as the delivery of radiotherapy is so precise. Before it was introduced removing the eye was the only option.