No amount of mud, cold weather or daunting obstacles will stop Martyn Thomas, of Stechford Mobility, Birmingham, from running 4 seasonal endurances races in aid of Heartlands Hospital Charity neonatal wards.

Martyn , the company’s director, hopes that with the help of friends, family, customers and colleagues, his team will raise an amazing £30,000 .

Martyn’s daughter, Lyla Thomas, was born in 2015, 9 weeks premature and weighing only 3lbs 7oz. With the help of the Heartlands Hospital neonatal unit, Lyla was able to go home after just 4 weeks of specialist care. In the same year, Bliss surveyed neonatal units across Britain and found that 64% of neonatal units do not have enough nurses to meet standards, and one third cannot offer accommodation to parents of critically ill babies .

The primary cause is insufficient funding and since 1 in 9 babies need neonatal care in England, that means more than 77,000 babies a year and rising.

The target total could cover the cost of a new incubator, heart and breathing monitors , or even contribute towards adapting rooms for parental accommodation. Speaking about the charity, Martyn said:

“We will always be in debt to this amazing unit for the care and support they provided for both Lyla and ourselves. Many babies born on this unit were very poorly and needed to spend long periods of time there, [and] many parents had to travel long distances each day.

"We are so passionate about this unit, it deserves every penny it can get to cover the costs and equipment of the fantastic care they provide.”

Last year, Stechford Mobility donated 7 height adjustable armchairs to the Heartlands Hospital neonatal unit. This year, the Stechford team are going one step further and would appreciate your help in raising awareness and donations for their target total. As well as 4 endurance races, Stechford engineer (and Lyla’s uncle), Alex Cook, will join Martyn for a Tough Mudder event. Lyla’s grandfather (and Stechford Director) David Thomas and engineer Martin Baker, will ride from Birmingham to Edinburgh Castle - 300 miles non-stop on a sponsored scooter ride!

Stechford Mobility are also proudly supported by Kent's UK Barbers, who are hosting donation buckets in a number of their shops. Kent's employee Stephen Jones is also joining David and Martin on the sponsored scooter ride.

To support Stechford Mobility and the staff, parents and babies of the Heartlands Hospital Charity, visit their JustGiving page and donate today.