Parents of daughter born premature prepare for London to Brighton cycle ride

A couple from Surrey are gearing up to ride 55 miles on a tandem bike for Royal Surrey County Hospital Charity.

Bridget and John Walton from Farnham will be taking part in the iconic London to Brighton Cycle Ride on 15 September to raise money for the hospital's Closer to Care campaign.

The £500,000 appeal aims to deliver a new SCBU at the hospital for babies who are born premature or sick. The redeveloped unit will provide new parents the opportunity to stay overnight, next to their newborn's cot.

Bridget and John chose to take on the challenge after their daughter Zoe was born 11 weeks premature by emergency caesarean in 2016, when Bridget developed pre-eclampsia and then eclampsia. Following two weeks in the neonatal ward at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, Zoe was transferred to Royal Surrey's SCBU, where she received care for the next eight weeks.

The couple has already raised over £5,100 for the project and they plan to raise a total of £12,000, part of which will fund comfortable chairs for the unit that convert to beds, so that parents can stay overnight with their babies.