A SCHOOLBOY has raised hundreds of pounds for Poole Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after doctors cared for his premature baby cousin.

Harry Heckels wanted to thank staff at the unit after tot Lily was born eight weeks early.

So the nine-year-old, who attends Winton Primary School, started to dream up ways to raise funds in support of the facility.

He washed cars for his family and friends and baked delicious treats for a cake stall at school to gather an impressive total of £255.

The youngster said: “We had a talk about charities at school and I wanted to do something nice.

“I decided to raise some money for the neonatal intensive care unit because they looked after Lily.”

Danny Lockyer, matron at NICU, was delighted to receive the cheque and gave Harry and his family a tour of the newly refurbished unit.

They were joined by Dr Latha VinayakaRao, who helped to deliver Lily.

Danny said: “We are always delighted when children support NICU.

“Harry has worked very hard to raise such a fantastic amount.

“We will be using this donation to purchase new toys for the siblings and families of the babies on the unit.

“This seems especially appropriate as I know that Harry spent some time on the unit while his family were visiting Lily, so he would have enjoyed playing with the toys.”

Dr VinayakaRao said: “It has been wonderful to see Lily looking so well and to hear all about Harry’s fundraising efforts for NICU.

“Donations like this are so important and make a real difference to our patients and their families.”