High Peak parents raise £5,000 in memory of stillborn son

Amy and James Hawtin, 26 and 28, from Whaley Bridge, have been together ten years and have already been through so much. In March last year their little boy Chester was stillborn at 23 weeks.

Amy is still being treated at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester and helped by the charity Tommy’s, so she wanted to give something back and organised a ball which took place on Saturday and raised £5,000.

She said: “There is still a taboo surrounding miscarriages and stillbirths and that’s not right. From the moment you find out you are pregnant you become a mum and it’s not just a miscarriage or born asleep, it is the loss of a child that you loved.”

Previous fundraisers included a sponsored run and a coffee morning which made £3,000. Chester’s Dreams Summer Ball took place at the Devonshire Dome and 170 people attended.

Amy said: “One in four people suffer with miscarriages and at the ball so many people were telling their stories of loss, so it wasn’t just for Chester it was for all the little ones who aren’t with us.

“The money is to help support other parents, as I have been, and let them know they are not alone.”