A couple from Penryn who two years ago lost their son, Charlie, to sepsis at just 29 hours old, are fundraising in his name to buy key rings and teddy bears which will be given to other families who have lost babies.

Not only that, Hayley and Mark Jermyn have also campaigned to raise awareness of the signs of sepsis, much like Melissa and Paul Mead, also of Penryn, who lost their son William in December 2014, and are delighted that the symptoms are now included in notes for new mothers.

Charlie died 29 hours after being born at home in May 2015, but died just over a day later following a sequence of failures in the healthcare system which contributed to his death. "He got missed by two midwives who didn't spot the signs that he was as ill as he was," said Hayley. "It wasn't until a third came and Charlie collapsed in my arms, that it was realised.

"As a family we have worked hard with Treliske to learn lessons from Charlie's death and successfully had an information checklist sheet for 'unwell baby symptoms' added to the green maternity notes throughout Cornwall.

"On Charlie's second birthday this year we heard it is now being recommended to all maternity notes throughout the UK. For us this is a massive break through and this will hopefully stop other families having to go through the heartache that we have gone through."

Hayley and Mark, who have three other children, Harry, seven; Lottie, four, and Molly, nine months, are now concentrating on their initiative, A Gift From Charlie. They aim to raise £1,000 to buy 75 Heart In Their Hand key rings, which include a cut-out heart which stays with the lost child while the parents retain the rest; and 80 teddies which will be given to siblings of babies who have died.

"As a family walking the long path of grief, having to bury our baby way too soon, we found comfort in hearing from other families who have experienced similar loss," said Hayley. "We hope the key rings and bears will provide some connection with the baby and their family forever."

They have set up a GoFundMe page and will be hosting a family fun evening at Raze the Roof in Penryn between 6pm and 9pm next Tuesday evening, August 29. Thanks to donations from local businesses this will include an auction and raffle, along with face painting and games.

Raze the Roof have offered the venue to the Jermyns for free so the entry fees of £3 per child and £1 per adult, will all go to their appeal and laser tag games will be charged at £2 a go, with half being given to the appeal.

Once bought, the key rings and teddies will be given to the maternity and bereavement units at the hospital for staff to distribute as needed.

"It would be nice to do something every year to keep it going," said Hayley, who is manager at Smiling Faces Pre-School in Falmouth. "Obviously the fun day is something that our kids can get involved with which is nice so we will see how well this goes and then maybe do something similar next year."

To learn more or to make a donation go to gofundme.com/3yqmvag.