Joy at final figure for baby unit race

The race, organised by the Herald&Post, the L&D and Luton triathlon group Boxfit, took place at Vauxhall Recreation Centre and saw hundreds of runners young and old raising money for the hospital.

The L&D needs to raise £1.5 million to kit out its new £7.5 million unit, which will mean even more premature and poorly babies can be given lifesaving care.

L&D fundraising assistant Sarah Coulthard said: “How fantastic – to raise £11,700 from one day is just incredible.

“There were so many brilliant people taking part: children and adults, teams of families, friends and work colleagues as well as NICU families who ran with babies in their pushchair.

“It really was a fantastic day with such a great atmosphere. It started off to be quite a chilly morning but there was such a great crowd of supporters cheering everyone on, the cold was soon forgotten.

“All the staff and babies in NICU wish to thank each and every one of you who came along and ran, walked or skipped to support such a great cause.”

The hospital has announced that it is now a third of the way towards its NICU target, having raised £500,000 so far.

“This is just remarkable,” Sarah said. “Phase 2 of the NICU project is to build overnight accommodation for parents so they can stay close to their baby if they are extremely unwell or live a long way away from the unit.”