A 24 hour sponsored workout by a local gym community has raised almost £18,000 for the Beau Roffey Tribute Fund.

The fundraiser, organised by local couple Kat and Paul Roffey in memory of their son Beau, means they can now buy a defibrillator for their gym facilities and donate the rest to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the RUH in Bath. Beau was born last November and spent time in the NICU before sadly passing away, just two days old.

The 24 hour event involved around 60 members of Affinity Wellbeing taking part in a series of team workouts, on the hour, every hour. Examples of the workouts include an hour-long team plank, 8000 team skips as fast as possible, a silent disco, an hour of rowing or cycling in the middle of the night and a pre-dawn yoga session. The event culminated in an eighties style dance workout.

The original aim was to raise £5,000 in Beau's memory and the amount of support generated by the event has surpassed all expectations. Paul said, "Donations are still coming in but we are now at £17,897. We simply can't believe what has been achieved. This is a life changing amount of money and will make a real difference to the lives of babies and families who find themselves needing the care of the NICU in Bath."

Kat added, "To be able to purchase potentially life saving equipment for our gym and also to be able to donate such a significant sum to the NICU means the world to us. We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part in the 24 hour event, and the other fundraisers that have recently been held in Beau's memory. Thanks as well to everyone who has listened to our story and sponsored the events. You've all been a part of making Beau's life more than special to us and the repercussions of the money raised will be life changing for many."

You can read more about the fundraiser at the JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/beaubear