The legacy of a little boy whose life was cut tragically short lives on - after his parents helped raise more than £55,000 to help other families.

Claire and Simon Nicholl, from Eaton, suffered heartbreak when their son Harrison Alexander Nicholl died four days after his birth in February 2010.

Harrison had been born weighing 7lb 14oz, but he became distressed during delivery and was treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH).

Since then, the Nicholls, their family and friends have organised a string of fundraising events in their son's memory - and the figure has now exceeded £55,000.

A number of sponsored walks and charity balls have helped raise the money, split between the N&N Hospitals Charity and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Among the items that money has bought for the NNUH's intensive care unit are a £6,000 portable ventilator and £3,000 towards a VCreate secure video technology system - a service which allows hospital staff to send regular video and photo messages to parents, so they don’t miss crucial moments of their child’s first weeks.

The messages can be accessed on any device, whenever the parents want, and can be downloaded and kept forever.

Mr and Mrs Nicholl, also parents to daughter Emily, said: “We are so pleased that the money raised from the most recent Harrison’s Ball will be used for this piece of software.

"I cannot imagine what it would have been like if we were not able to sit with Harrison 24 hours a day, but throughout the pandemic parents have not always been able to do this.”



NICU matron Paula Mellor said: “The VCreate system has made a huge difference to families, particularly during the restrictions we faced due to Covid-19.

"We are so grateful to Claire and Simon for their wonderful generosity which enables us to continue to provide videos and photos to our NICU families.”

Louise Cook, head of fundraising at the NNUH, said: “It’s wonderful that Harrison’s legacy continues to inspire so many people to donate in his name and we are so grateful.”

People can support the N&N Hospitals Charity at nnhospitalscharity.org.uk/