A GRIEVING couple are using the death of their premature daughter to help comfort other parents coming to terms with the death of their children.

Rachael Chadwick, 19, and Joseph Shearns, 22, were heartbroken when their daughter Primrose was born asleep 20 weeks prematurely on March 14, weighing 11oz.

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They set themselves a target of £1,470 to buy a cold cot, which lets allows families to spend more time with their stillborn babies before they are taken to the mortuary.

It works by cooling the baby down to a near freezing temperature to significantly slow down the deterioration process.

On Saturday Rachael and Joseph, of Belvedere Avenue, Waterfoot, held a family fun day at St Mary’s Football Club, in Haslingden, and raised £2,058.

The couple had previously held other fundraising events such as a sponsored wax, and a sponsored walk, bringing their total to £4,500 in just two months.

Rachael said: “We have been fundraising for Primrose’s cold cot appeal in memory of my daughter. We had to try and get something positive from something so negative and upsetting.

“We wanted to raise £1,500 to get a cold cot at Burnley General where Primrose was born.

“When a baby is born this early, their body starts to deteriorate extremely quickly, meaning the family are only able to spend a maximum of five hours with the baby before they go to the mortuary. We were able to spend 18 hours with Primrose. But unfortunately, there were three other families on the ward at the same time as us who were also losing their babies.”

Currently there is only one cold cot available at Burnley General Hospital so the couple decided to put their energies into getting an additional one and possibly even a third.

Each cold cot costs £1,470 and they need to buy special sheets for £100.

The couple is planning is a man v food event this summer.