A mother whose daughter was stillborn has won a Pride of Britain award for her fundraising mission launched in her child’s name.

Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons, from Livesey, lost her daughter Maggie in June 2015 after she was born at Burnley General Hospital.

After her death, Sarah knew she needed to do something to keep her daughter’s legacy alive, which is when she launched Maggie’s Stillbirth Legacy.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons with her Pride of Britain award for regional fundraiser

Her fundraising efforts have seen her awarded with the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Regional Award for the North West, which has landed Sarah an invite to the red-carpet event in London where she could win the national Pride of Britain award.

Sarah was with her sister in the Houghton Arms when ITV came to present her with the award.

She said: “I was so shocked. I honestly didn’t think I had won.

“When they came out, the shock – I was shaking.

“I still can’t believe it.

“When you lose a child there are so many ways you can go.

“This is not my award - it's Maggie's for inspiring me."

Lancashire Telegraph:

Sarah said that the award was not hers but Maggies for inspiring her

Sarah’s fundraising buys cuddle cots which allow parents to spend time with their child after their birth.

So far, they have raised enough money for 17 cots, eight of which are in hospitals across the country.

They are currently raising for another cot which will be given to Burnley General Hospital, which Sarah said is very important to her.

After Maggie had passed, Sarah and her partner Mark Parsons were able to use the cuddle cot the hospital had to spend some time with their daughter.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons and Mark Parsons with one of the cuddle cots they have donated to a hospital

Unfortunately, another family lost their child at the same time but due to Sarah and Mark using the cot, they were unable to spend that time with their child, something Sarah said made her feel guilty, meaning that providing this cot means even more than the others.

She added: “Those parents from that family, they will get to make memories that the family six years ago didn’t get to.

“Knowing that they didn’t get to do that made me feel so guilty for having the cot.

“It could have been us. We were there before them and Maggie died before their baby died.

“This means so much to be able to do that.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Each of the cuddle cots have an engraving on Maggie's name

Sarah also makes memory boxes for families which includes trinkets of tributes to their lost child; as well as sibling boxes to help young children understand the loss the family is going through.

Fundraising comes through auctioning off items which have been donated to the team from individuals or businesses.

You can join the fundraising group on Facebook here.