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Raising £135k for baby loss charity was 'magical'

James Grant,in Northamptonand
Alex Pope
News imageJames Grant/BBC A group of people, standing outside a building, which has South Entrance written on it. Two people at the front are holding a large cheque. They are all smiling and looking at the camera. James Grant/BBC
A large cheque was handed over from members of the rally team at Northampton General Hospital

The man behind a fundraiser that collected £135,000 for a baby loss charity said knowing it will make a difference was "spine-tingling" and "magical".

Carlos Baldry organised the Rust Bucket Rally, which involved drivers motoring from Northamptonshire to 10 different countries in cars bought for under £1,000.

The money will help fund a new two-year counselling service by baby loss bereavement charity, Petals, which started at Northampton and Kettering General hospitals in July.

Emma Perkin, deputy head of midwifery at Northampton is also the maternity bereavement service lead. She said it was a "much-needed service" that will complement what bereavement midwives already offer.

News imageJames Grant/BBC Carlos Baldry is standing by a car and smiling. He is wearing a black jumper with the Rust Bucket Rally logo on it, and black glasses. There is a building behind him with a picnic bench outside. There are other cars in the background.James Grant/BBC
Carlos Baldry said seeing the impact the service was already having was "just phenomenal"

The rally group won the Fundraiser Award at the BBC Radio Northampton Make a Difference Awards 2026. Baldry said it was the most they had raised since the group began in 2014.

"Not for one minute did we think we would get to £135,000," he said.

"To get here today to see the impact it's having immediately, it's spine-tingling, it's magical."

News imageJames Grant/BBC Emma Perkin, standing by a vehicle, with buildings behind her, smiling and looking at the camera. She has short fair hair and is wearing glasses and a black top. James Grant/BBC
Emma Perkin said the charity receiving so much money was "amazing, it's incredible"

Perkin said her team gives "excellent care" but they were not counsellors.

She said: "It's to help families to start to work through their grief, to...talk as a couple. It's for families not just mothers."

News imageJames Grant/BBC Karen Burgess, wearing a shirt and a dark jacket, with a bag strap across her. She has short fair hair and blue glasses. She is standing outside by a car with buildings and other cars in the background.James Grant/BBC
Karen Burgess said Petals had been going for 15 years

Karen Burgess, chief executive of Petals said the services were "an integral part of the support for those families when they're going through that devastating experience".

She said: "When you're told your baby has died it's utterly devastating, it's traumatic and it's that trauma that we aim to help their parents to process, so they can get back into their lives."

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