THE brother of a beloved teaching assistant who died suddenly this year, has launched an event funding public defibrillators in her memory.

Calum Taylor, from Newton Aycliffe, wanted to create a lasting legacy for his sister Seonaid Hill, who died in January.

She taught in the reception class at Skerne Park Academy in Darlington and was loved by teachers and students for her sense of humour and caring nature.

Mr Taylor said: “I wanted to leave something for her and her children that she would be remembered for.

“The defibrillators will at some point save a life and I want people to know Seonaid has saved that life.”

Mr Taylor hosted the Kick it 4 Seonaid event in Newton Aycliffe and hopes to run it annually to ensure his sister’s memory lives on through the tournament.

His idea was prompted by a special memorial service at the school Mrs Hill worked at.

He was touched by the hundreds of blue balloons released by school children in memory of the 39-year-old mother-of-two.

Mr Taylor also attended a service which took place at the school, led by Reverend Sue Bell of St Columba’s Church in Darlington, where a child from each year group read a prayer thanking Mrs Hill for her help and support.

During the service, Amazing Grace was played on the bagpipes in tribute to Mrs Hill’s love of Scotland and family heritage.

Mr Taylor said:“She had such a huge impact on the area, especially at the school she worked at. It’s been great to see the community come together for her.

“The event was just amazing and my parents, along with myself and my partner, would like to thank everyone involved in organising the day.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of local businesses and everyone’s hard work.”

The Kick it 4 Seonaid event took place at Moore Lane Sports Club and saw a team of Mrs Hill’s friends challenge a Newton Aycliffe pub team to a match in her honour.

The teams walked out to her favourite Scottish song followed by minutes of clapping for the much-loved teaching assistant.

Mrs Hill’s nephew, Reece Marshall, was a match team captain and his team won 9-7.

Her younger nephew, Archie, was ball boy for the match. He stepped on to the pitch to score one of the final goals.

More than 300 people attended the day which ended in the Gretna Green Hotel in Newton Aycliffe. The fundraising evening was held in the hotel and saw live bands perform. A raffle was also held in the hope of raising money to prevent deaths from cardiac arrest.

Bishop Auckland Juniors also played on the day in a match against St Mary’s Juniors FC.

The event raised nearly £1,800 and will go into funding a 24-hour defibrillator in Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland and Darlington.

Mr Taylor said Mrs Hill would have been pleased with the day as she herself was a first aider passionate about the cause.

In the future, Mr Taylor would like to not only fund public defibrillators but organise CPR courses in the hopes of preventing similar deaths.

He would like the courses to run in schools, as he feels it is a very important issue.

Mr Taylor is now in the planning stages of deciding where the defibrillators will be installed.