PARENTS Genevieve and Christian Tucker are aiming to run a marathon to say thank you to the hospital which saved the life of their seven-year-old daughter Jasmine.

In May, young Jasmine was rushed to Torbay Hospital with a suspected burst appendix – just hours after being sent home from school with a tummy ache.

She underwent a four-hour operation to remove her appendix after keyhole surgery proved unsuccessful.

After the successful operation, doctors confessed to her parents that if they had waited a few more hours it would have been 'a different story', said mum Genevieve.

The couple, who run Contract Cleaning Ltd in Dartmouth, are planning to run the Amsterdam marathon next month to raise money for Torbay Hospital's Louisa Carey children's ward which looked after Jasmine after her emergency operation.

Genevieve said: 'It was touch and go for a while when she underwent major surgery.

'We will be eternally grateful to the hospital and the amazing job they did. They were great on the ward and took great care of her.

'You feel helpless in that situation and if you can give something back I feel you should.

'They did save her life and we will be eternally grateful.'

Genevieve and Christian have run their cleaning business in Dartmouth for the last four years.

This month the couple, along with Kirk Pound who works for them, ran in the Bristol half marathon to prepare themselves for the Amsterdam run.

The trio had tried to get on the starting blocks for the London Marathon but it was fully subscribed, said Genevieve.

For the full story see this week's Dartmouth Chronicle