AIREDALE Hospital's maternity bereavement service has been nominated for a national award.

The service – which supports families who have lost babies through stillbirth, miscarriage or neonatal death – is in the running for a Butterfly Award.

Helen Chhokar, from bereavement support group Aidan's Elephants, submitted the nomination.

She said: "The bereavement team at Airedale dedicates so much of its spare time to ensuring that its services are outstanding.

"We are regularly contacted by families which have lost a baby, and in the five years we have worked with the hospital team we have never heard anything but the very highest praise for it.

"It always has new ideas of how to improve its bereavement services and works very hard to bring these ideas to fruition.

"We cannot thank the team enough for all its hard work and dedication. We are truly honoured to work with such an amazing team of people."

Bev Beaumont, bereavement midwife at Airedale Hospital, said she was delighted with the nomination.

"It was a lovely surprise," she added.

"We work with families going through unthinkable situations and do all we can to support them.

"We are very proud to be nominated but the real reward is knowing that we have made a difference to families at such a difficult time."

Award winners will be announced at a ceremony in Worcester in October.