A couple have raised a hole lot of money for a hospital unit that they hold very close to their hearts.

Hollie Fawcett and Kris Shepherd, of Clayton West, have raised £4,215 for Leeds General Infirmary where Hollie, 20, and their one-year-old son, Skye, were both treated after being diagnosed with having a hole in the heart.

Hollie and Kris scaled Yorkshire’s three peaks in nine hours and 44 minutes on July 18 to kick start their fundraising campaign, which they hoped would raise as much money as possible for the hospital charity, the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

It gives vital equipment to the unit to help more babies, children and young adults have the best possible start in life.

Hollie was six-years-old when she underwent an operation to close the hole in her heart, while Skye continues to be seen by the unit due to the discovery of an extremely rare heart condition which can only be treated, not cured.

She said: “We’re so surprised. We never thought that we would raise so much money.

“It definitely makes the walk, which was pretty brutal at points, especially when we were battling 45mph winds, worth the while.

“It feels really good to be able to give something back to the unit, which has done so much for us as a family.

“It’s great that people have been so generous and we hope that the money raised will help more families.”

Hollie and Skye were just two of 530 babies born with the congenital condition, called Atrial Septal Defect, each year — or roughly one in every 1,500 births — which takes root during the early stages of development in the womb and leads to a hole between two chambers, which causes blood flow problems.

Skye is now coming on in leaps and bounds since a tense operation to close the hole in his heart this April, when he was only nine-months-old.

Skye Shepherd

Dad Kris, 28, said: “Since his operation Skye has continued to amaze doctors and has not needed to start any treatment. He does, however, need constant monitoring by the hospital.

“The whole experience was very tough but we couldn’t have been looked after better by staff in the hospital. They were unbelievable.

“They understood what we were going through and the surgeons explained everything to us really clearly and being with other families in the same position was really helpful too.”

To donate go to https:// www.justgiving.com/Skye-Shepherd/