Daredevils to take a giant leap for Maisy

Fleetwood tot Maisy Hughes died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool in February just a fortnight before her second birthday.

Now family friend and DJ Karl Griffiths, 26, and scrapyard worker Steven Barnes, 22, are taking on a 11,000ft skydive to raise money for Trinity Hospice and Brian House in her honour.

Karl, who lives on London Street in Fleetwood, said: “I have been a big supporter of Maisy’s family for a lot of years. When me and Steven shaved our heads for cancer research we thought ‘what are we going to next?’ We decided to do a charity sky-dive and we asked if we could do it in memory of Maisy.

“Brian House provided fantastic support for Maisy in the two years she was with us. It’s an amazing charity and it o nly makes sense that if you are going to do something for charity you should do it locally so you can see the positive effects yourself.

“There are areas in the country that don’t have hospices like Brian House and they are at a disadvantage. We are lucky enough to have that so it makes sense that we should support it.” Karl and Steven will take the dive on Monday at Cockerham in Lancaster with the support of Maisy’s parents, Kim Hearn, 26, and John Hughes, 29.

Karl added: “She loved to laugh. She loved the Disney film Frozen. At the funeral they showed a recording of all her cousins and sisters singing a song from Frozen which was recorded while Maisy was still alive and she was happy, smiling and giggling.

“Steven suggested raising £1,000, but I said no – let’s go for £10,000. The community has really come together behind us.”

People can donate to Maisy’s memorial fund-raiser online at www.justgiving.com/SkydivingForMaisy.