A team from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has helped raise an impressive sum towards life-saving research for babies.

Eastern Daily Press: Eddie Morris and wife Mary-Anne Morris at Ride London. Submitted.Eddie Morris and wife Mary-Anne Morris at Ride London. Submitted. (Image: Submitted)

The group joined a team taking part in the Ride London event, which saw cyclists ride 100- and 46-mile races through the streets of London for charity.

The team were raising funds for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists's Each Baby Counts campaign, which is aiming to halve the number of babies who die or are left severely disabled during labour.

Senior registrar of obstetrics Charlie Bircher took on the 100-mile race, while gynaecologist Eddie Morris competed in the 46-mile race with his wife Mary-Anne Morris, a paediatrician.

The team raised a staggering £14,437 for the cause – well above the £10,000 target set ahead of the challenge.

Mr Bircher, 33, of Norwich, said: 'If I'm being honest, with the over-saturated fundraising market, I thought £10,000 was ambitious to begin with, so it's a really impressive amount to have raised. The money will make an absolutely huge difference to the college and the work it does.

'I work in obstetrics and see first-hand the devastating impact a term stillbirth has on a family. I genuinely don't know how people cope with the trauma.'

Mr Morris, who also competed alongside his son, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, said: 'The loss of a baby has always been one of my greatest sadnesses professionally.

'Modern obstetrics has made so many advances during my career, but I feel strongly that it is only through ground-breaking projects such as this that we can truly feel we have done everything we possibly can to get to the root cause of this tragic problem.'

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