When Philip Abraham died suddenly from a mysterious heart condition, his mother Mary was determined something good would come out of it.

Her personal fight to stop other parents experiencing the tragedy which hit her family so unexpectedly reached a landmark last week.

It was nine years ago when 16-year-old Bitterne schoolboy Philip died suddenly in his sleep.

He had been perfectly healthy and fit – but an undiagnosed heart defect was equivalent to a ticking time bomb.

Mary, 54, has been campaigning tirelessly for city charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, CRY.

Last week, after months of fundraising effort, she proudly presented a Southampton surgery with a state-of-the-art heart machine.

The new ECG machine, at West End surgery will open the door to the screening of patients who have difficulty reaching the clinic and will help doctors make crucial diagnoses.

Mary, who had previously helped raise £8,000 for an ECG machine for Bitterne’s health centre said: “It’s good to see that our hard work has paid off.  We hope this will make a real difference to heart patients in the area.

“It was hard not knowing what happened to Philip but this type of machine can give so much information.  It’s been set up in the surgery in my son’s name.”

Cash for this machine came from fete stalls, charity barn dances and Mary even packed bags in supermarkets for extra funds.  Last year she won a Sainsbury’s local hero award – and the prize money from that also went towards this vital piece of machinery.

Peter Das, from the surgery in Moorgreen Road, said: “We’re thrilled.  We had an ECG machine already, but this is a top-of-the-range model.”