Stephen Hawking: Ipswich brain injury centre to be named after physicist

Headway Suffolk's new centre will be named after Prof Stephen Hawking

A new multimillion-pound brain injury centre is to be named after world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.

Dr Jane Hawking, the first wife of Prof Hawking, is a patron of Headway Suffolk, which is building the facility.

It will be built on the edge of Ipswich, and will provide support and housing for people with brain injuries and other neurological conditions.

The charity said it was "delighted" to be able to use Prof Hawking's name.

Prof Hawking died in Cambridge on 14 March, aged 76, having lived with motor neurone disease for more than 50 years.

Headway Suffolk approached Dr Hawking to see if it could use his name, and both she and his family have given their blessing.

Jane Hawking, Prof Hawking's first wife, is a patron of the charity Headway Suffolk

Dr Hawking said: "I am sure Stephen would be as delighted as I am that the new hub for Headway Suffolk is to be named the Stephen Hawking building.

"I am confident that this carefully planned complex will bring much comfort and relief to victims of brain injury and neurological conditions, and to their families."

Headway Suffolk said the new centre would cost at least £3m.

It will provide rehabilitation and include 24 homes where clients will have the opportunity to live as independently as they are able.

Headway Suffolk said the new centre would cost at least £3m

The charity said it would sell its current premises at Ransomes Europark to help fund the new facility.

It will also fund-raise, and is running an initiative asking people to buy bricks for 50p.

Chief executive Helen Fairweather said the new centre was "essential".

She said some people could become homeless because "life after brain injury is difficult for the person and their family".

It is also hoped the centre will enable the charity to support more people with brain injuries and dementia in Suffolk, rather than sending them out of the county.