Purdis Farm couple light up home in memory of daughter

A couple are lighting up their home for Christmas in memory of their daughter who died after childbirth.

Jessica Mai Walden, from Bramford, Suffolk, died last May aged 28 after giving birth to her second daughter Orla at Ipswich Hospital.

Her parents Julie and Neil Stout, from near Ipswich, said "nothing is the same without Jess" but the lights continued her "love for Christmas".

The lights will raise funds for Suffolk's St Elizabeth Hospice.

It is the second time Mr and Mrs Stout have held the fundraiser.

They said this year's display at their Purdis Farm home was bigger than before, with 28,000 lights that took Mr Stout six days to put up.

"I know Jess will be looking down on them," said bookkeeper Mr Stout.

"We were like big kids at Christmas, we both used to get so excited."

The couple said hairdresser Mrs Walden died 48 hours after giving birth to Orla due to placental complications and severe blood loss which led to cardiac arrest.

They said the hairdresser, who left husband Jack and daughters Orla and Elsie, would "light up the room" when she walked in the door.

The couple said they were raising funds for St Elizabeth Hospice due to the care Mrs Stout's parents Jacqueline and William Sparrow received, and the support the charity gave them after Mrs Walden's death.

They said their daughter also took part in many fundraising activities to support the cause, including the annual hospice Christmas Day Dip and its popular Midnight Walk.

The lights will be turned on at 18:00 GMT and will be on until 5 January.

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