Woman takes on challenge after three relatives die of heart conditions

Lesley Fell, Ms Morris's mum, suffered a heart attack days after her grandfather's funeral

A woman who lost three family members to heart conditions within five months is setting her own challenge to raise money for life-saving heart research.

Laura Morris's grandfather, grandmother and mother all died between September 2021 and February this year.

The 37-year-old from Desford, Leicestershire, described the last few months as "pretty horrific".

She is now preparing to scale the Yorkshire Three Peaks in July, raising money for the British Heart Foundation.

Ms Morris's grandfather, Christopher Fern, died from kidney failure, aged 83 following years of suffering from heart conditions.

A few days after his funeral in October, Ms Morris's 61-year-old mother Lesley Fell, suffered a heart attack and died.

Then in February this year further tragedy hit when Ms Morris's grandmother Shirley Fern died suddenly.

She was 83 and had suffered a rupture of the aorta - the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

Ms Morris's grandparents both died of heart conditions in recent months

"Losing my mum and grandpa so close to each other was just devastating," said Ms Morris.

"The loss is still raw to this day, and it feels unreal.

"It has been a pretty horrific few months.

"We have not had the chance to grieve for one person, let alone all three."

'More poignant'

Just last month Ms Morris's five-year-old daughter, Amber, was also diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm called supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) which causes a very fast heart beat.

"Her condition is congenital so she will have had it from birth and it could have laid dormant until recently," added Ms Morris.

"We signed up for this challenge in memory of my mum but since then it has become more poignant and important for us.

"With Amber's heart condition, she is on medication twice a day until a procedure she could have in her mid to late-teens, or she could be on the medication indefinitely for the rest of her life.

"So this heart research becomes more important for us and could be well advanced in 10 years time by the time she is old enough for the procedure."

Her daughter Amber has also recently been diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm

Ms Morris will be joined on the trek in July by her friend Mikyler Fernandez-Harrison.

They will cover 24 miles (38km) and 5,000ft (1,524m) of ascends over the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and have so far raised more than £1,600.

"I want to prevent any other family going through what we have," added Ms Morris.

"Knowing that the money I raise will go towards the BHF's research to help fund new treatments and discover new cures will make it all worth it."