A FATHER from Selby whose baby son was saved by heart surgeons at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) is undertaking a huge fundraising hike to help the threatened hospital unit.

Darren Vaines’s son, Oliver, underwent an operation at LGI’s child heart surgery unit, on a serious heart defect when he was only seven months old.

However the life-saving unit is threatened with closure under a major NHS shake-up of services, and Darren, 47, from Snaith will set out on the famous Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge on June 22 to raise funds for LGI’s ongoing legal battle to keep the unit open.

He said watching Oliver go through the operation was the worst experience of his life.

Darren said: “I wanted to raise money for the heart unit because I found the whole experience humbling, what the cardiac team does on a daily basis is incredible.

“The staff and consultants go above and beyond for you, having nothing but your family’s best interests at heart. They are an amazing team of people.

“We took Oliver down at eight in the morning and they worked on him the very best they could. The surgeon’s commitment was absolutely magnificent.”

Oliver is now a healthy and lively 14-month-old, though he will need to have another operation in his teens.

Darren said: “It’s horrible to see what that hospital is going through politically. I know the Leeds Heart Unit has touched so many lives in our region so I’m hoping that we can gather an army of people to do the 25-mile walk and raise as much money as possible. A couple of people who have already signed up will be attempting the challenge around the peaks twice, non-stop, in under 24 hours.” All the money raised will be split and donated to the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund and the Save our Surgery campaign.

If you want to join Oliver’s Army, get in touch with Darren at darren6428@sky.com Or donate on his Just Giving page at justgiving.com/olivers-army-3peaks