Virgin Media O2 has provided 1,000 refurbished smartphones to the charity Supporting Children with Diabetes.

They have been handed to the charity through the tech firm's Community Calling programme and will benefit disadvantaged children with diabetes. The phones are vital to children monitor their condition.

The firm has also pledged to hand over a further 500 devices during the next year to the charity, which supports low-income families with children with Type 1 diabetes.

The devices will be distributed through NHS trusts and Virgin Media O2 is urging people to donate unwanted smartphones to its Community Calling programme.

“As someone who is a Type 1 diabetic, I know first-hand the role technology and connectivity play in keeping diabetes under control,” said Virgin Media O2’s chief communications and corporate affairs officer Nicola Green.

“That’s why Virgin Media O2’s donation to Supporting Children with Diabetes is so important as the devices are a vital tool in helping families monitor and manage this serious condition.

“With millions of unused smartphones gathering dust in drawers and cupboards across the UK, people have got the power to donate a device to transform a child’s life, and it’s quick and easy to do through our Community Calling programme.”

Supporting Children with Diabetes chief executive Carolyn Goldhill said the devices are “a game changer for low income families across the UK”.

“It means children no longer need to be pricked multiple times a day to check their glucose levels as the results go straight to a smartphone, she added.

“This allows their parents to log in remotely and monitor the condition more easily, so that children and their parents can lead more normal, active lives.

“NHS trusts across the UK rely on these much-needed devices and value the contribution of Virgin Media O2.”

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