TWO cousins who have both had open heart surgery at Bristol Children’s Hospital have organised an event to raise money for the hospital that cared for them so well.

Bella White and Jeanie Wallis from Cinderford are raising money for the Grand Appeal, a charity dedicated to Bristol Children’s Hospital with a fun day on Saturday, August 18.

Bella was born with a congenital heart condition and needed surgery in 2013 at just nine months old.

Her older cousin, Jeanie, was also born with a heart defect but it went unnoticed for several years as she had no symptoms until last year when she started complaining of dizziness.

Doctors diagnosed a heart murmur which led to her being seen by a specialist, and she had surgery in August 2017 when she was eight years old.

Bella’s mum, Michelle, said: “Both of the girls were really brave and are very proud of their matching scars.”

Since Bella’s surgery in 2013, the whole family has been involved in lots of fund-raising events for the Grand Appeal.

Michelle added: “Now that we have two children in the same family that have benefitted from the amazing care at Bristol Children’s Hospital, our efforts to support the charity will continue to grow.”

The fund-raiser at The White Hart in Cinderford on August 18 marks the first anniversary of Jeanie’s surgery.

The action-packed event starts at noon and runs until 3pm and will include three local bands, Paw Patrol characters, facepainting, a bouncy castle and a raffle with more than 20 prizes on offer, including £50 cash.

Michelle said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received for this event.

“We’ve had so many kind donations of prizes for the raffle, tombola and sweet stalls, plus lots of offers of help and support. It really does mean a lot to us.”

The girls have a target of £300 – to donate search for “jeanie-belle” on www.justgiving.com

For more information or to donate a prize, e-mail [email protected]

At Christmas, a raffle organised by the girls raised £239.