BEREAVED families will walk in memory of their babies next month at Swindon Sands Walk A Mile In My Shoes event.

Family members and friends using the Sands support network will set off for a sponsored walk around Coate Water Country Park at 11am on June 18, joined by fellow fundraisers.

The walk is designed to give families the chance to remember and reflect upon their babies and help with the grieving process, as well as speak to people in similar situations.

This will be followed by a picnic and balloon release in memory of the children lost.

June is Sands awareness month and this will be the third year the sponsored walk has been held.

Rebecca Porter, who lives in the town centre, created the sponsored walk. Her younger sister Kyra was stillborn at 20 weeks in April 1998 and the 23-year-old joined Sands to provide help and support to others.

“Even though I was only five when Kyra died she has always been very much a part of my life, my brother’s. I remember that excitement when my mum told us she was having another baby and how that suddenly went away," she said.

“Before Sands I feel there wasn’t anywhere in the town where you could get advice and this helps to raise awareness of the work they do. Even now we have mums coming to use who lost babies years ago and it’s so fulfilling to be able to help them.

“This is also a chance for families, friends, anyone affected by the loss of a baby, because this touches everyone, to remember them."

Natasha Wilson is another mum taking part in the memory walk.

Last March Natasha’s baby daughter Rebecca Florence died at 36 weeks after a procedure to correct her from being breech caused a fatal bleed on the brain.

The 30-year-old from Shrivenham, who is expecting her fourth child, said the walk helped her children honour their sister’s memory.

“In our family not a day goes by where we don’t talk about Rebecca, she is always in our thoughts and memories,” Natasha said.

“My children found it difficult to process what had happened but the walk is something that they and the rest of my family are really looking forward to. We will be thinking about and remembering Rebecca along the way as we do every day.”

The money raised from the walk will go towards funding vital Sands support services, including memory boxes given to grieving parents with keepsakes to remind them of their baby.

There are likely to be 20 to 30 people taking part in the walk next month.

Swindon Sands group provides support services to parents, family members and friends dealing with still-birth and neo-natal deaths.

To donate to Swindon Sands visit justgiving.com/sandsswindon or for information visit swindonsands.org