Saving at least one family from the heartbreak - the Wort family know that they have done a good thing.

They have of course done a LOT more than that.

Shirley and her family have not just directly saved at least one family the waves of grief that they experienced when they lost their son to an undiagnosed heart condition, but they have funded equipment, paid for hundreds of screenings and raised awareness of cardiac sudden death in the young.

They have raised over £50,000 and donated two heart machines used to carry out the ECGs and bought two defibrillators.

But possibly the most important thing that they have done is bring more than 500 young people to be screened for a simple quick and non invasive check on their heart - that ECG - thereby saving who knows how many families from the same devastating heart break they experienced.

On Saturday - and fittingly the day before Mothering Sunday - they carried out another 97 at the screening, their last, at Oakfield School.

Shirley is modest about the achievement added: " We have done quite well."

Ninety five of percent of any heart abnormalities could be picked up by this simple ECG with an estimate that every week 12 young people die of a heart problem of which they are unaware.

Frome Nub News went to speak to Shirley at the screening, at her son's former school.

Julian was just 28 when he died on March 19, 23 years ago, from a larger than normal heart - Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - which had gone undiagnosed and it killed him.

" It was a Sunday morning, " recalls Shirley, " A frantic call from his partner, but when we got there he had gone. The post mortem came back as inconclusive, so we sent his heart to the Royal Brompton in London and that was when his heart problem was discovered, clearly too late. "

Julian's heart weighed 450g , most people's heart is 300 g, and although it is not guaranteed that knowing would have meant a cure, a simple screening would have picked it up.

To find their own answers all the family went onto have their own hearts checked and were shocked to be told they had to pay for the investigations.

So Shirley and family started their fund raising and to date have funded hundreds of free screenings open to all young people in Frome up to 35. Any monies left after the latest ECG sessions held at Oakfield Academy will be put back into funds for Cardia Risk in the Young (CRY) to help carry on their screenings which hopefully will save other lives.

Getting answers is what it is all about and Shirley is delighted to tell us that from a previous screening, she was told, anonymously of course, that a problem had been picked up in a youngster and he made changes to the sport he did to protect his heart and to stay alive.

Shirley said: " One life saved .. I have done my job !

" I am a bit emotional, because of this anniversary and of course Mother's Day but I have lovely daughter, and two grandsons and a great grandson.... we just felt the time was right to go out when I am fit and able... that's it we have had wonderful, wonderful support. "

The list of thank you to the Frome community who helped with the fundraising over the decades is long.

It includes an anonymous Frome business man who helped start the Memorial Fund with a £1,000, Kingfisher Takeaway in Badcox who have always kept a collection box on their counter, Frome Lions who have contributed £7,950 and Kevin and Laura Rumming of Frome Auto Electricals who donated £2,503 to get the family to their £50,000 target.

For more information about CRY see HERE