Four Bradford kidney patients officially opened a £500,000 expansion of the renal unit at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford.

Edna Hardaker, 82, and Peter Green, 65, both from Thackley, and Nisar Ahmed, 31, and Mohammed Khan, 80, both of Bradford, were special guests at the unit where they undergo life-saving dialysis treatment.

The new-look centre now has an extra eight dialysis stations, a minimal care unit and a built-in capacity for another seven beds.

With Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust chairman, John Ryan, and consultant in kidney disease, Dr Robin Jeffrey, Mrs Hardaker and Mr Green said a few words to mark the occasion.

Mrs Hardaker, who has had dialysis three times a week for the last two years, said: "We know this unit is a lifeline for us. We get really well looked after here and all the staff from Dr Jeffrey down are nice."

The number of people with kidney failure in the district is expected to double by 2010 due to better survival rates, a rise in diabetes, with a higher incidence in the Asian community, and an ageing population.