BATTLING babies at Dorset County Hospital have been given a boost by a fitness-themed fundraiser held in Weymouth.

The organisers of a family workout event held at Redlands Community Sports Hub have handed over a cheque for more than £1,000 to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), which looks after around 250 babies a year.

Mother-of-two Louise McLaughlin, from Radipole, Weymouth, organised the event with the help of two colleagues – Katy Hicks and Valerie Woodgate.

The trio are studying a leadership and management course in conjunction with Dorset County Council.

The workout session was run by personal trainer Andy Sloan and attracted a crowd of nearly 50 people of all ages.

The event itself, which included a fundraising raffle, raised a total of £878 and Val went on to organise an Easter sale at her workplace to help take the fundraising total up over £1,000.

Louise said: “It was absolutely fantastic, we had 47 people taking part in the charity workout – adults and children alike. We had a really big raffle with some great donations from local companies and on the day we raised £878.

“Val was quite determined to get to £1,000 and went back to where she works at Sidney Gale House in Bridport and they had some cake stalls and other stalls over Easter and raised another £153.”

Louise said that staff at the SCBU were immensely grateful for the donation and said they were planned to use it to help improve their parent room, where parents spend days and nights before their child is discharged.

She said: “It felt fantastic to hand it over. We are so grateful to everyone that helped us organise the event and helped raise such a huge amount.”

Louise said she also wanted to thank Mr Sloan for his help on the day.