Brave dad battles fear of heights in memory of daughter

Darren Webster abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower to raise money for the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

He completed the abseil with support from his wife Amy in memory of their daughter Jessica who died when she was five-weeks-old.

The couple have already hit their fundraising target of £3,000.

Amy, 39, from the Isle of Wight, said: ‘The team on NICU were absolutely fantastic. They made an awful situation that bit more bearable with their kindness and thoughtfulness.

‘During her stay at QA Jessica needed an operation on a valve that needed closing to assist with her breathing, so she travelled to Southampton General Hospital to have the operation. But returning to QA felt like coming home.’

Jessica was born at 25 weeks in August last year, weighing just 510 grams.

Amy added: ‘We were determined to raise money in Jessica’s memory, and Darren always joked about abseiling down the Spinnaker. I never thought he would do it.

‘He gets scared sitting high up in a theatre, so I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to go through with it.

‘He was very quiet in the week leading up to it, but he loved it. He spoke to Jessica the whole way down and carried a photo of her inside the glove he wore.’