Nearly a year on from the day that her 'beautiful baby' passed away, a mum from Yate and her friend took on a charity skydive to tackle the disease that killed her.

Claire Grove's baby Libby was born in early 2018, however on March 26 last year she died after contracting Meningococcal disease.

"Devastating doesn’t even sum it up," Claire said when describing the events of March 26.

"You never think something so horrible will happen to you but unfortunately luck wasn’t on our side that day."

Claire and her friend Emily Gravell were supposed to be taking on a charity skydive in November last year, but pushed it back to last Sunday.

"I wanted to raise awareness of Libby’s story, the more awareness of Meningitis that is raised hopefully the more lives will be saved," Claire explained when asked about why she was taking on the challenge.

"All of the staff at Go Skydive in Salisbury made me feel so at ease even when I was seconds away from jumping 15,000ft.

"You can’t even imagine how accomplished you feel after you’ve done it, it was amazing."

The pair raised an incredible £1500 between them for the Meningitis Research Foundation and they are now looking at what else they can do for the charity.

"I would definitely do it again, it’s a great way to raise money and the sights you see are incredible," Claire continued.

"I’m so chuffed with the amount we have raised and we still have more donations to come.It’s for a charity very close to my heart and I know Libby would be really proud of us.

"Thank you, thank you and thank you to everyone that donated, I’ve already started thinking about what I can do next."

"Emily and I have been friends for years and she’s always supported me so it was nice to achieve this together.

"She was a beautiful baby and brought a smile to anyone who met her. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, she taught me the precious lesson that life can be far too short."

Emily echoed the thoughts of Claire, describing Libby as 'special'. 

"She was just such a beautiful baby girl! She meant so much to so many people so it shows how special she really was," she said.

"She has showed us you have to appreciate everyone around you whilst you still can.

"I definitely want to do more for some charities close to my heart, I just have to think of something bigger and better than a skydive.

"Thank you so so much for donating and supporting us! Just the smallest amounts of money all add up and make a difference."

Donations for the pair can be found here.