Hayley Owen aims to raise £1,500 for York Hospital appeal through parachute jump

She has won the backing of journalist and health campaigner Anne Diamond as she takes part in a parachute jump near Bridlington in a bid to raise £1,500 towards a £250,000 appeal to create a new bereavement suite at York Hospital for the parents of deceased babies.

Anne, who lost her four-month-old son to Sudden Infant death Syndrome in 1991,said:" Hayley is rightly creating more awareness of neonatal death. I don't envy Hayley's next fundraising venture with her first ever parachute jump to raise money for a new bereavement suite but I do applaud her remarkable courage and wish her the very best of luck."

Hayley has already helped to raise thousands of pounds for the York branch of SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity), having become involved after organising a funeral for baby Alexis, who was 16 days old when she died on Christmas Eve in 2015.

Hayley said: "It's not only my first jump but my first time in a plane but I'm determined to do it for the hospital and the grieving parents who will benefit. They need time to say goodbye to their babies in as nice an environment as possible."