Shannon Poole's dreams were fulfilled when she gave birth to her daughter Natalie.

She instantly fell in love with the perfect bundle with blue eyes and a halo of blonde curls.

She had longed for a daughter and remembers the precious moment Natalie entered the world on December 31, 1990 at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford.

Shannon, 18 when Natalie was born, excitedly started planning the future but, two months after the joy of giving birth, her world fell apart.

She had been plagued with worry about cot death during her pregnancy because her cousin died from it when he was four months old.

"I knew if it happens once in the family it can happen again," said Shannon, now 28, of Heaton, Bradford.

"I worried about everything, I just wanted everything to be perfect."

But in a twist of fate her worst nightmare came true.

Shannon was feeding Natalie in her arms on the settee at 4.30am on February 21, 1991, when tragedy struck."I fed her and I drowsed off a bit, like you do at that time on a morning," said Shannon.

"Just before she had finished her feed she looked up at me and she smiled a really big smile.

"It was really nice because she was at that age where they learn to smile and her eyes lit up and then she just went to sleep.

"She looked really angelic because she had this big halo of blonde curls."

But that was the last time Shannon saw her daughter alive.

"It was around 7am and I needed to go to the bathroom but as I moved my arm to put her into her pram her face was purple down one side," said Shannon.

"She looked like she was fast asleep to start with but I just knew something was wrong."

Cot Death is an umbrella term for the sudden, non-expected death of a baby for no obvious reason. The majority of cases occur in under one year olds and in 1999, 419 babies died from the syndrome.

This week, leading charity The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths is holding its Cot Death Awareness Week to raise cash for lifesaving research.

Supporters from around the country are undertaking sponsored walks, including Bradford Bolton Road Nursery which is holding an under twos pram push.

Years later, Shannon admits she still feels raw about her daughter's death. But she says she is finally beginning to come to terms with her loss and has been helped by Bradford's Bereaved Parents group. But she will never forget her daughter.

"Natalie is in my mind but I am not consciously thinking about her," said Shannon.