Hundreds of guests at Yorkshire Sikh Forum’s annual Vaisakhi dinner were last night urged to help the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal hit its £1 million target.

About 300 diners at the Midpoint Suite at the Aagrah restaurant in Thornbury were told how their donations could help Bradford University scientists pioneer new, less toxic cancer treatments faster than ever before during the annual event to mark the Sikh religion’s most important festival.

Professor Laurence Patterson, director of the University’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics (ICT), was invited to the dinner by one of the organisers, Manoj Joshi, who was involved in fundraising for our Bradford Can... appeal 12 years ago.

Over 16 months, that campaign raised £1 million towards building the ICT, which in 2011 revealed a pioneering ‘smart bomb’ tumour-blasting treatment – a therapy which could dramatically reduce the horrendous side effects of chemotherapy suffered by cancer patients.

The T&A Bradford Crocus Cancer Appeal – which we are running with the University, Yorkshire Cancer Research and principal supporter the Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust – will buy the unit a new mass spectrometer, which will allow it to study the role of proteins in cancer ten times faster than ever before.

It is hoped the cutting-edge machine will help researchers make even more breakthroughs in the fight on cancer.

Mr Joshi said: “I was part of the committee for the Bradford Can... appeal and can remember the fun, excitement and joy of seeing a lot of people supporting the fundraising and reaching the target.

“We managed to reach it very quickly because it was such a good cause and I’m sure it can be done again.”

The evening, which was attended by a number of dignitaries from across Bradford and Leeds, saw a collection for the appeal as well as a raffle.

Prof Patterson spoke to guests about the campaign’s aims and the difference it will make in the ICT’s bid to create new cancer drugs which don’t have the damaging side effects of existing treatments like chemotherapy.

Mr Joshi said: “It’s something everyone should support, especially as it is a local Bradford charity and is a big appeal.

“We urge people to back it for the duration of the campaign.”