Baby born weighing just 1.13oz is inspiration for fundraising drive by Stewartby dad

Lawrence Quayle's son Leo was born at 25 weeks gestation and it was touch and go whether he would survive.

"Needless to say it was the hardest time of our lives and there were moments when we could have lost him. We spent three months in three different hospitals," he said.

But Leo survived and is now a completely healthy and happy two-year-old.

However, seven weeks ago the Quayles faced more drama when their daughter Freya decided to arrive early too, this time at 32 weeks gestation.

After spending three weeks in hospital, Freya was allowed home.

After both births, Lawrence and his wife received "invaluable" support from the charity Bliss.

"Bliss funded parent accommodation so we could stay close to our newborns and also helped by giving us a plethora of information in our time of need," said Lawrence.

"Suffice to say we owe a lot to Bliss and I decided for my 32nd birthday to give something back and raise some much needed funds to help the great work that they do every day."

He and three friends plan to complete a 77km trek in seven days throughout Kielder, a small, remote village in western Northumberland. They plan to stop at six Bothy shelters along the way and they are calling themselves the Bothy Boys.

"To my knowledge this seven day trek has not been attempted by anyone else so we will be etching our names into the history books," said Lawrence.

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