When Soldridge resident Ian McNeill had a “big birthday” recently his friends clubbed together to provide him with funds for a charity donation.

Ian topped up the sum to £500 and donated it to the Cardiac Rehab Centre in Alton for gym equipment in memory of his former partner Rachel who died in 2014 from a congenital heart condition.

He said: “She was vibrant, hard-working and funny, and she never let her condition stop her from doing the things she wanted to do. My friends were delighted when I told them what I planned to do with my birthday present. Rachel was taken from us much too soon.”

A flowering pink rose, called Rosa Rachel, was planted in her memory at the front of the Cardiac Rehab Centre.