AS they mark the anniversary of their beloved daughter's death this weekend, Kerry Jackson's parents have found a way of ensuring her memory lives on.

Kerry touched the hearts of Shuttle/Times and News readers when an appeal was launched last year for a mobile oxygen concentrator to help her build up the strength she needed to undergo a life-saving lung transplant for the second time.

The 40-year-old died on the morning she was due to receive the machine, however, and it is now based at Kidderminster Hospital, giving other house-bound patients the freedom to leave their homes.

Kerry's mum and dad, Colin and Maureen, have used the remaining proceeds of the appeal to buy a shield which they hope will spread more joy in their daughter's name as the first prize in the Stourport and District Ladies Darts League, which she used to play in.

Colin said his daughter loved playing darts and would have been proud to have a shield bearing her name. He said it was giving his family something positive to focus on during a sad time.

"I think Kerry would be pleased with the shield because she played a lot of darts when she was well," Maureen added.

"She was well-known in the district and we thought this would be lovely for her."

Kerry, who defied doctors' predictions all her life, living beyond her first birthday and taking her first steps after being born with a hole in her heart, played at various district pubs. The main team she played was based at The Alma, Prince Albert and the Sportsman in Kidderminster.

After a heart and lung swap at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge in 1994, she also inspired a charity darts tournament four years ago, which enabled her to meet her idol, Bobby George and raised £500 for Papworth Hospital.

Two years later, however, she developed an incurable lung infection that caused her desperate need for a second transplant.

Sheila Seiboth, secretary of Stourport and District Ladies Darts League, said 14 teams would compete for Kerry's shield.

"Kerry was very well liked as a darts player," said the 67-year-old, of Laymen Walk, Stourport.

"Everyone was very sad when she got this illness and as it deteriorated she still went out to play her darts. Since she's passed away, she has been sadly missed and when her parents suggested a trophy I thought it would be a lovely gesture and something for our girls to play for every year."