A TRIBUTE fund set up in memory of a young Wiltshire mum who lost her battle with cancer has raised over £25,000 for The Forever Friends Appeal, the charity for the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Kelly Ross, from Devizes, was only 32 when she died in 2015, leaving behind her 11-month-old son Jack and three-year-old daughter Ruby.

She had always spoken about supporting the appeal, so her family decided to set up a personal tribute fund through the charity to fundraise for the RUH’s new Dyson Cancer Centre.

Five years on, the family have organised a variety of events and challenges, including football matches and raffles. Earlier this year, Ruby, now aged nine, raised £1,700 from a coffee morning.

With fundraising activities being cancelled this year, Kelly’s brother Ashley Rake and his wife Katie, together with brother-in-law Jason Muir, took on the White Horse Trail, a 80-mile hike that links all of the Wiltshire White Horses.

Family and friends joined them for parts of the three-day trek from Westbury to Devizes, going via Pewsey, Marlborough, Hackpen Hill, Broadtown, Cherhill and Alton Barnes, with Kelly’s parents meeting them at the final White Horse.

Afterwards, Katie said: “Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, joined us and sent messages of love and support. We couldn’t have done it without you all.

“We are all doing this for Kelly who is worth every penny, every blister, every ache and pain!”

More than £3,000 was raised from the hike, bringing the total raised by the tribute fund since its inception to over £25,000.

As a result the family are now senior partners of the charity and will see Kelly’s name in the Dyson Cancer Centre.

Jan Witt, legacy and tribute manager, The Forever Friends Appeal, said: “Our charity relies on the wonderful generosity of families out in the community who wish to celebrate the lives of their loved ones through fundraising.

“Setting up a personal tribute fund really does help make a really big difference to the patients and their families who are cared for at the RUH.

“Acknowledging the Kelly Ross Tribute Fund as a senior family partner is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for everything her family, friends and colleagues have done in her honour.”