THE family of a Hampshire mum has told how she died of a broken heart, just months after the sudden death of her daughter.

Jeannie Hayward was found dead in her bed after suffering heart failure earlier this month. Doctors say it could have been caused by the stress of losing her 28-year-old daughter, Rebecca Hayward, only a few months before.

Her son, Boyd Hayward, 33, told the Daily Echo: “It’s most likely that she died of a broken heart.”

Yesterday, Jeannie was laid to rest next to her daughter who died suddenly in her sleep in June from epilepsy. She had lived with the condition since she was 12 years old.

Rebecca, who had graduated from Solent University in 2011, was planning to train to become a teacher having lost her previous job when the clothing chain Peacocks went into administration and its Southampton branch closed.

She was found unconscious in her flat in Ocean Village by a friend. Jeannie, from Gosport, died on November 4.

Boyd said: “Mum never got over the death of my sister. It goes to show that no one’s safe and you never know what’s going to happen to you. The worst thing is the proximity of their deaths.”

Now, in the memory of his sister, Boyd is reuniting his band, The Warm, after two and half years for a gig and recording at The Ranch recording studio, Nursling, tomorrow, to raise awareness for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).

He hopes to raise money for Epilepsy Bereaved, which conducts vital research into SUDEP, by selling recordings of the gig.

He said: “As SUDEP largely affects young people, I thought music would be a great way of getting the word out there. While it will never bring Rebecca back, hopefully by raising awareness we will help people realise the risks associated with epilepsy.”

“Every year 1,000 people die from epilepsy in the UK – more than cot death and HIV combined – and more than half of these are from SUDEP, yet incredibly even those closely affected by it haven’t even heard of it.”

Tomorrow’s gig is sold out but anyone who wants to make a donation or buy a copy of the recording can email Boyd at emailthewarm@gmail.com or log onto facebook.com/thewarm.uk.