A MOTHER who had two premature babies has thanked young people who raised more than £2,000 for North Tees Hospital’s Neo-Angels charity in her honour.

Members of the Sunday School, at the Salvation Army, in Shildon, County Durham, decided they wanted to raise money for the charity, which supports babies in the hospital’s neo-natal unit and their families, after hearing of the plight of Connie Drummond, who was born 12-weeks early, last December.

Connie, whose grandparents Margaret and Derick Dunn, attend the church in Shildon, weighed just 1lb 11oz and spent three months at North Tees Hospital, in Stockton.

It was the second time her mother, Jillian, had given birth prematurely, as her son Crosby, now aged five, was born nine-weeks early.

He was also treated at North Tees Hospital after his birth.

Mrs Drummond, who is originally from Shildon but now lives in Hartlepool, said: “I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix after having Crosby so I was closely monitored with Connie.

“A growth scan showed she had stopped growing and that she wasn’t getting anything from me and she was struggling to breathe.

“She was born that night.

“While I was having the caesarean I was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.”

After her birth at the RVI, in Newcastle, Connie was transferred to North Tees Hospital, followed by Mrs Drummond a couple of days later, which was where she found out about the Neo Angels charity.

She said: “I was very poorly but I just wanted to get to North Tees.

“I hadn’t heard of Neo Angels until I was on the ward.

“They helped with things like paying for a monthly car park pass and got us meal tickets so we could go down to the canteen and get something to eat.

“That saved us a lot of money.”

The children from the Sunday School raised £2,050 by filling baby’s bottles with coins, hosted a coffee morning and held a fundraising concert.

Mrs Drummond thanked them for their efforts and said: “I think it is so nice that the kids wanted to do something.”

Meanwhile, baby Connie now weighs 11lb 5oz and is thriving at home with Mrs Drummond, her father Andrew, and smitten big brother Crosby.

She was released from hospital two days after her official due date, which was March 1.

The young people from the Sunday School and the Drummond family presented a cheque to the Neo Angels charity on Wednesday, August 3.

To donate to the charity, visit justgiving.com/neo-angels.