WHEN Gemma and Ross Hatter’s daughter was stillborn in May this year they decided more awareness was needed and raised £2,400 for the stillbirth charity SANDS through a bingo night.

The couple, from Ashmead in Trowbridge, lost their daughter, Gracie-Mae, on May 13 this year when her heart stopped beating just a few days before her due date.

Mrs Hatter, already mum to two-year-old Ella, was rushed to Royal United Hospital in Bath and had to be induced.

The 29-year-old said: “I knew something was wrong when she wasn’t kicking. I had to wait 15 hours from being induced for labour to start. It was awful, the worst hours of my life, but the midwives were brilliant.”

The couple, who have been together for nine years and married last year, now attend Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS) support group meetings every month in Bath.

Mrs Hatter said: “It is very helpful, especially as the people who run the group are people who have lost a baby.

“I wanted to raise awareness of the charity, particularly now as this has been Baby Loss Awareness Week. Everyone thinks that after 12 weeks (into a pregnancy) everything is going to be fine.”

The couple invited friends and family to a day of bingo, raffles and a tombola on October 6. Prizes included a meal for two at The Rose and Crown, hair and beauty vouchers, bottles of wine and a box of toys.

Mrs Hatter said: “We asked businesses for donations and the response was amazing.”