FAMILY of Devizes hairdresser Kelly Ross, who died from cancer aged just 32, have set up a tribute fund in her memory to raise money for the hospital where she was treated.

Mrs Ross always thought she would recover from her illness and pledged to raise money for the Forever Friends Appeal at the Royal United Hospital.

But despite her optimism the mum of two young children died in July. Now her family want to raise money for the appeal for The Forever Friends Appeal which is raising £8.5 million towards the £23.5 million needed for the new Bath RUH Cancer Centre.

Her brother Mike Wesley said: "Kelly always spoke about raising money for the appeal. She really did think she would get better. She was such an optimistic person she always looked on the bright side of things.

"Now we want to raise money in her memory."

Mrs Ross worked at Kadiem salon with her brother and sister Dawn and they are using the tenth anniversary of the opening of the family business on December 10 to boost the appeal.

The salon will be raffling a pair of GHD hair straighteners worth £130. Tickets are now on sale for £1 each.

Mr Wesley said: "Kelly was such a bright, warm hearted, caring girl. Nothing was ever too much trouble and would gladly make time for us all.

"Raising funds funds in someone's name will sadly not bring them back, but what it will do is inspire each and every one of us to do something amazing to honour those we have lost and make a difference for the future.

"The Kelly Ross tribute fund has been set up to commemorate and pay tribute to Kelly's life and give each of us the chance to have an involvement in shaping the future of cancer care. All proceeds from Kelly's fund will be going direct to the Forever Friends appeal.

"The new unit, believed to be the best cancer centre for a district general hospital in the UK, will be a state of the art building, taking a holistic approach that is designed to produce a highly beneficial healing environment for patients and their families. It is planned for the cancer centre to be fully operational by 2018, but significant elements will be commissioned and completed in advance of this date."

People in Devizes have already started to do their bit to back the appeal. Townsend Barn Nursery at Poulshot raised £360.50 from a Christmas shopping night and family friend Craig Townsend raised £2,047 by taking part in a sponsored bike ride.

A Facebook page for the appeal has been set up called the Kelly Ross Tribute Fund.