Senior care assistant Sarah Wharton will brave a head shave at a fundraising event in memory of her sister-in-law and father-in-law on Saturday.

Mrs Wharton, of Campion Close, Calne, lost her sister-in-law Charlene Surtees to cervical cancer in January and her father-in-law Robert Wharton, who had dementia, the day before.

She has already collected £400 for Cancer Research and is hoping to reach £1,000 with her event at The Mallard in Lyneham on Saturday.

Mrs Surtees, who lived in Southampton, was diagnosed with cancer 18 months before her death aged just 31.

She went through chemo-therapy and radiotherapy and her strength during this period has inspired Mrs Wharton to organise the event with her friend Paula Oakley, from Lyneham.

Mrs Wharton, 35, said: “I just wanted to do something for Charlene, for all the months she suffered. She was amazing right to the bitter end, she fought all the way.

“At her six-month check she got the all-clear, but when she went back six months later she was told she had only a couple of months left to live.

“She left a big hole in a lot of people’s lives.”

The event, which begins on Saturday at 11am, will include a bouncy castle, face paints, and a car boot sale, as well as nail art, a barbecue and a raffle.

The head shave is at 3pm and Mrs Wharton’s hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust to help make wigs for children who have lost their hair through cancer treatment.

Mrs Wharton, who works at The Firs Residential Home in Lickhill Road, Calne, said: “People have said ‘you’re brave’ but these people are the ones who are suffering.”

To sponsor Mrs Wharton visit www.justgiving.com/sarah-wharton2