SCHOOLGIRL Louise Diddams has swum a mile to raise money for a fund dedicated to her cousin, Maizie, who died of meningitis last April aged five months.

Louise, 11, of Cherry Tree Road, Rainham, raised a total £395 for the Maizie Bunch memorial fund by completing 64 lengths of the pool at Chatham's Buckmore Park Sports Centre.

The fund was set up by Maizie’s parents, Paul and Maxine Bunch, of Sutton Road, Rainham, to raise money for the ward in which their daughter was treated at Guy’s hospital in London. The couple had to make the agonising decision to turn off her ventilator after she was struck by the deadly virus.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can pay the Maizie Bunch Trust Fund, Guy’s Hospital at NatWest, sort code 601744, account number 48178284-02.