STAFF, parents and children at a Banbury nursery have raised more than £600 to help furnish a room for families of sick babies.

Instead of their usual attire, staff and children at Smart Tots Nursery, Horsefair, wore fancy dress for the day.

They were asked to dress up like their favourite film or television character and youngsters sold cakes and held a raffle to raise £663.39.

The event was organised by colleagues of nursery manager Gemma Froude, whose baby son Finnley died aged 18 weeks at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, last month. Finnley was born 12 weeks prematurely at the neo-natal intensive care unit at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital in February, weighing just 1lb 4oz.

Mrs Froude, 28, and her husband Luke, 29, are raising cash for Support for Sick Newborn And their Parents, to furnish the newly decorated family room, which will be named after Finnley.

Smart Tots deputy manager Laura Thomas said: “We wanted to support them in their appeal family to furnish the family room at the John Radcliffe, which will mean Finnley’s memory will live on. It’s very close to us and we wanted to do as much as we could to help Gemma and Luke.”

Mrs Froude, of Appleby Close, Banbury, said the couple had so far raised £5,000 for the unit from Mr Froude’s abseil earlier this year and the help of both their employers and colleagues who organised events.

She said: “We can’t thank everyone enough for what they have been doing for Finnley.”