A senior eye specialist has been awarded a professorship for his contribution to research.

Ben Burton, who is a consultant ophthalmologist and clinical director of research and development at the James Paget has been made a visiting professor at the University of East Anglia.

Mr Burton became involved in setting up a research team at the James Paget hospital in 2009. The hospital team has steadily grown from its original three members to currently 24 with plans to expand further, reflecting the growing importance of research in helping improve patient outcomes.

Its Twitter campaign #whywedoresearch has gone viral, reaching 250m people last week alone.

He said: 'I'm delighted to receive this recognition. It is a great opportunity to improve the trust's links with the UEA whist opening the door to expansion of research collaboration, ultimately improving quality and standards for patients.'