A COUPLE have vowed to carry on with their charity work after raising £6,000 for a second ‘cold cot’ at Burnley General Hospital in memory of their premature baby daughter.

Rachael Chadwick, 20, and Joseph Shearns, 23, handed over the device, which allows families to spend more time with their stillborn baby before they are taken to the mortuary, to hospital staff on Saturday.

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The £6,000 also paid for a bespoke wooden crib, 50 baby loss keepsake boxes and 40 angel funeral gowns.

The couple, of Church Street, Newchurch, Rossendale, were heartbroken when their daughter Primrose was born asleep 20 weeks prematurely on March 14, weighing 11oz.

The cold cot, which works by cooling the body down to a near freezing temperature to significantly slow the deterioration process, meant they could spend an extra 12 hours with their daughter on top of the standard six.

In Primrose’s memory they decided to fundraise for the second cold cot and, after achieving that aim, they are now looking to provide memory boxes for hospitals across Lancashire after hearing that some don’t provide them.

Rachael said: “The nurses were really grateful for what we have done.

“When we had Prim there were two other couples on the ward and only one cold cot so it was shared.

“Now they have this second cold cot it means that other couples can get the support that they need.

“When a baby is born as prematurely as Prim was, the skin changes really quickly and starts to deteriorate. A cold cot means that parents can have vital time to make the memories you would with a living baby.”

Rachael said it was during their fundraising efforts, which have included a fun day, sponsored walks and Joseph’s full body wax, that they found other hospitals didn’t provide memory boxes and wanted to change that.

She said the couple were looking to get charity status for Primrose’s Wings, which would help their fundraising efforts. Rachael added: “I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us raise money for the cold cot. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

To donate visit facebook.com/primrosescoldcotfundraising