DARTMOUTH business couple Christian and Genevieve Tucker have said a £900 thank you to the hospital which saved the life of their seven-year-old daughter Jasmine.

Christian and work mate Kirk Pound took on the Amsterdam Marathon to raise the cash.

It is going to the Louisa Carey children's ward at Torbay Hospital which looked after Jasmine when she was rushed in with a burst appendix.

Christian and Genevieve run a contract cleaning business in Dartmouth and Kirk is part of the workforce.

Said Christian: 'We were delighted to have raised £900 for the ward in time for Christmas, after the fantastic care they took of Jasmine the least we could do was run 26.2 miles for them.'

Jasmine fell ill in May this year when she started complaining of a tummy ache.

When she was still ill a day later her GP diagnosed possible peritonitis and she was rushed to Torbay Hospital where she underwent a four-hour operation after keyhole surgery proved unsuccessful.

After the successful operation the couple were told by doctors that if the op had been delayed by just a few hours the outcome could have been tragically different.

Christian and Kirk have been training for the Amsterdam marathon since September. They ran the Bristol half marathon earlier this year to get prepared.

Christian and Kirk travelled to the Torbay hospital to present the cash to the children's ward.

Genevieve said: 'We had loads of people come and sponsor Christian and Kirk and they have been great.

'The ward was thrilled by the presentation. They haven't decided what they are going to put the money towards but they have said they will be getting back in touch with us to let us know.