A family who lost their baby son to a genetic muscle disease have achieved their goal of raising £5,000 to register a star in his name.

Zac Cochrane, of Stafford Crescent, Braintree, was just seven-and-a-half months old when he died of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) on July 22.

His parents Michelle and Tom Cochrane called him their miracle baby after suffering two previous miscarriages.

But from December 4, Zac’s birthday, a star will twinkle in his memory after the family, friends and local businesses rallied together to fund it.

Mrs Cochrane, 31, has thrown herself into fundraising for SMA UK, who helped diagnose her son’s illness, and has also taken the brave step of returning to work at Smith Law in Braintree.

She and her parents Cheryl and Roger Fireson organised a Halloween fundraising day in George Yard on October 29, which local businesses donated £1,300 worth of raffle prizes towards.

The event raised a total of £2,000 for Zac’s star.

Mrs Cochrane said: “I think Zac would have been proud to have a star named after him.

“We are so grateful to all of the local businesses for their support and generosity.

“We are trying to get back to normality - it is difficult with Zac’s birthday coming up but I feel we’ve done something positive.”

See this week's Braintree Times for more.