STUDENTS of a Hartford teacher whose wife suffered three miscarriages took time out of half-term to organise a sponsored walk in aid of his fundraising campaign for pregnancy research.

Pupils of Jon Scotland walked a five-mile route through St Ives, starting and finishing at Houghton Mill, after hearing about his bid to raise £2,500 for Tommy’s, which helps to fund research into premature births and miscarriages.

The 31-year-old, of Drake Close, and his wife Emma almost gave up trying for a baby after two unsuccessful pregnancies, the first in 2009 at 13 weeks and another at 10 weeks.

The couple gave birth to Lily-Mei but she was born nine weeks premature and needed special care for five weeks.

They later tried for a second child but were again unsuccessful.

As a result Mr Scotland decided to run this year’s London Marathon to raise money for the cause, as well as organising a raffle with a shirt signed by Huntingdon Olympic and Strictly star Louis Smith.

“I thought it would be tough to achieve the £2,500 target before Christmas but the response has been phenomenal,” he said.

Mr Scotland has raised £3,000 and hopes other donations, including those from his students’ sponsored walk on Monday (February 11), will push him over the £3,500 mark.

“This has been such a traumatic journey for us and we couldn’t imagine anyone else going through the same,” said Mr Scotland, who teaches at Cromwell Community College in Chatteris.

“If Tommy’s is able to reduce the chances of another family going through the same I hope that we can help in any small way we can.”

INFORMATION: To donate to Mr Scotland’s fundraising visit the website http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jonrunningfortommys