A couple whose young son died suddenly in his sleep have raised £13,000 for an epilepsy charity.

Jackie and Patrick Short lost their 21-month-old son, Joe, in March last year after a suspected epileptic convulsion.

Joe's death left the couple and their young daughter, Annalise, six, heartbroken and at times they wondered how they would carry on.

But they were determined not to let other families suffer in the same way and vowed to highlight a campaign to improve awareness and services for people with epilepsy, as well as raise money for the charity Epilepsy Bereaved.

And the birth of baby Keira in March this year also gave them new hope.

The family held a football auction as a tribute to their son, who was named after Chelsea footballer Joe Cole.

Jackie said: "Our friends are ordinary hard-working people, not lottery winners or aristocracy, but they believed in our cause and have raised thousands of pounds.

"Epilepsy Bereaved is working to prevent families like ours being put through the devastation we have suffered."

The Shorts' lives changed when Joe first displayed the symptoms of a seizure in the middle of the night.

Four weeks later he was taken to casualty after suffering a similar convulsion and 30 days later he died of a convulsion in his sleep. The cause of death was given as unascertained.

Jackie and Patrick presented a cheque for £12,890 to Jane Hanna, director of Epilepsy Bereaved, along with Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat health spokesman at the party conference in Brighton on Tuesday.

Ms Hanna said: "The funding raised by the Short family and the local community is an amazing tribute to Joe.

"It is tragic that it is necessary for funds to be raised to highlight systematic neglect of epilepsy in the NHS.

"We will use these funds to campaign on their behalf for a fair deal for people with epilepsy and support and information to bereaved families while unnecessary deaths continue."

The charity is campaigning this week at the conference with the support of other local families who have been bereaved through epilepsy and hopes Lib Dem activists and MPs will help to campaign for improved services for epilepsy in their local areas.

In the UK, epilepsy kills more than Aids or cot deaths combined.

Most of the deaths are sudden and unexpected and can occur in all ages, particularly among the young.

For details, call Epilepsy Bereaved on 01235 772852 or log on to www.sudep.org