Wales's first children's hospital is coasting closer to reality thanks to a Pembrokeshire roller coaster's anniversary.

The Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain have raised £300 for the new state-of-the-art children's facility in Cardiff as a result of their fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifth season of operation of internationally renowned wooden roller coaster Megafobia at the county's Oakwood Park.

Said Oakwood Park's managing director William McNamara: "Wales is currently the only country in Europe not to have its own children's hospital providing the type of specialist care and treatment that local hospital's are not equipped to offer. The nation badly needs a a centre of excellence dedicated to the health of our children and Oakwood is proud to support this worthy cause."

The chairman of the RCCGB, Andy Hine, added: "This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the fifth anniversary of one of Wales' and the world's best wooden roller coasters by raising money for the nation's first children's hospital. Every year, thousands of children enjoy coming to Oakwood Park and riding Megafobia, so it is a fitting tribute to a theme park ride which is as popular today as the day that it first opened five years ago."

The new children's hospital, to be built on a greenfield site alongside the University Hospital for Wales, will cost around £21m to build and will provide a service for children from across Wales. More than £2.5m towards the first phase, estimated to cost £5m, has already been raised by The Noah's Ark Appeal whose donation hotline is 0845 6066244.