PERFORMERS from Worle Operatic and Dramatic Society (WODS) will take to the stage to help raise money for the hospital unit which saved a newborn infant’s life.

Charley Maher set up the The NICU Foundation to support neo-natal intensive care units after her son Harrison was born nearly three months premature.

Charley and her husband Lee were told to prepare for the worst when Harrison suffered breathing difficulties and a bleed on his brain, but within three days he was off oxygen and making a remarkable recovery.

He was given the all-clear early last year and he will be celebrating his fourth birthday next month.

Charley and Lee, who live in Failand, have since been raising money for life-saving equipment for neo-natal units to say thank you for all the help they received when Harrison was poorly.

Charley, aged 35, said: “The doctors and nurses at Southmead (Hospital) were absolutely superb.

“They were already full when Harrison was born but they moved heaven and earth to find space for him.

“We lived there day and night and you could see the pressures they were under. They work so hard.

“If I could just raise funds for more equipment and staff it would allow them to reach out and do so much more.”

Harrison’s godmother Amy Badman, of Weston, and godfather Oliver Jerrome are trustees of the new group, and Amy’s performing background with WODS has seen her enlist some of the group’s fellow members in a fundraiser.

To The Moon And Back will be held at Kewstoke Village Hall on November 21, starting at 7.30pm and will feature WODS singers alongside professional singers from as far as London in a cabaret show on the theme of parent-child relationships.

Tickets are £10.50 for adults and £8.50 for children and are available from the charity’s Facebook page, from Natwest in Worle and Weston, or by emailing thenicufoundation@gmail.com