A WEYMOUTH woman inspired by the memory of her son chose a colourful way to raise epilepsy awareness.

Sally Dench marked Purple Day, the worldwide epilepsy awareness day, by having her hair dyed purple.

She was raising funds for SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) Action almost exactly a year after she tragically lost son Daniel.

The devoted father and husband was just 35 when he died after suffering an epileptic seizure in his Weymouth home.

Daniel’s loved ones have raised thousands in his memory since and the latest effort saw Sally head to the H2O hair salon in Weymouth to have her hair dyed by daughter-in-law Laura.

Friends and family also sold cupcakes on the day and helped to raise over £800.

Sally said: “I am delighted to have raised over £800 for SUDEP Action by going purple on Purple Day in memory of my son Daniel.

“Daniel was very much one of life’s givers, always the first to offer sponsorship to anyone raising money for a good cause and took part in many fundraising events himself.

“We miss him terribly but hope by organising fundraising events in his memory and raising much needed funding for epilepsy support and research will help other epilepsy sufferers and their families.”

Purple Day was founded in 2008 by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan from Canada and has become a worldwide day of awareness.

There are currently more than 600,000 people living with epilepsy in the United Kingdom and it is in the top ten causes of early death with at least three epilepsy related deaths a day.

Sally says she does not wish to scare people but is keen to promote SUDEP Action and Epilepsy Action and says if that saves the life of one person with epilepsy that will make all her efforts worth it.

n To sponsor Sally in her fundraising efforts visit website justgiving.com/sallydench2