IT'S hats off to Marie MacLachlan whose knitting skills have resulted in an abundance of woollies for Blackpool's smallest babies.
Marie, 59, of Queens Park, and who is a member of the residents' association there, has handed over tiny berets to Blackpool Victoria Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) to keep newborns warm.
She said: "I just love knitting and wanted to hel
p someone so I spent two weeks knitting little hats for the premature babies.
"I think they are so brave with the things they have to go through to stay alive and hopefully they come through with flying colours.
"My brother was born premature and he is 53 and 6ft 4in tall now so it just shows how important the care they receive is.
"I'm hoping to carry on knitting and aim to make some little cardigans next, and some blankets edged in pink for the girls and blue for the boys."
The Special Care Baby Unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital cares for babies with a number of medical conditions.
Some babies are born prematurely, others are born with breathing difficulties or feeding problems and some have abnormalities at birth.
Wendy Hall, acting lead nurse for SCBU, said: "We would like to thank the Queens Park Residents' Association, and in particular Marie, for making and donating these wonderful hats.
"Donations are very important and such items are always gratefully received."
Last year 220 babies were admitted to the unit, which has 16 cots, split into Intensive Care, High Dependency and Special Care.
The full article contains 261 words and appears in Blackpool Gazette newspaper.
