A couple marked the anniversary of their daughter’s death with a memorial concert to raise money for the nursing charity which helped the family.

The brass band concert was held at Cowley Conservative Club, in Between Towns Road, Oxford, on New Year’s Day, a year after Abigail Smith died, aged just 11 weeks.

Her parents, Helen and Dave Smith, helped raise more than £1,000 for the charity Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire Youngsters (Rosy), at the concert.

Mrs Smith, 36, said: “It was really good and really well attended, with lots of family and friends.

“It was a bit like a wedding reception, trying to get round everyone we knew.”

Abigail was born with an incurable chromosomal abnormality called Edwards’ Syndrome, and spent five weeks of her life in hospital. When she went home to Sandford Green, Banbury, with her parents, nurses from Rosy helped the family cope with tube feeding, oxygen, and generally caring for the baby, as well as offering grief counselling after her death.

Mrs Smith said without the charity’s help, she and her husband would have struggled to cope.

About 200 people attended the concert, which is held every year for charity, with a band made up of musicians from the country.

Mrs Smith said: “It was definitely a celebration rather than a sad event.”