The family of a woman from Harold Hill is aiming to raise money for the hospice that looked after her.

Caroline Rumble, 58, passed away 15 weeks after she was diagnosed with liver and kidney failure.

She was looked after by Saint Francis Hospice's Hospice at Home team and now her partner Cris and daughter Ashley are determined to generate as much cash as they can for the charity.

After her diagnosis, Caroline "didn't want to be around anyone", according to Ashley.

She stepped in after finding out her mum had shut herself away in her bedroom.

Cris was unable to get up the stairs in their home to see her, having suffered from three strokes, awaiting two knee operations and living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

They even started to communicate by mobile phone despite being under the same roof.

Once Ashley called for the Hospice at Home team to step in, she found a transformation in her mum.

"She started chirping away and was as happy as Larry. For the first time since her diagnosis, I could leave the house knowing that mum was in safe hands."

She said the team looked after the whole family, adding: "The nurses talked through each drug and injection, explaining what each one did.

"They were making tea and telling us to go and have a nap while they looked after mum.

"They went above and beyond and became part of our extended family — that's how they made us feel."

Ashley and Cris' donation push will begin with asking for donations instead of flowers at Caroline's funeral.

Cris is even letting his family chop off his long hair and beard, which he has had since the sixties, to raise more money.

"Everyone who knows Cris knows that for him to lose his beard and long hair is a big, big thing", Ashley said. The hospice, in Havering-atte-Bower, offers care and support to people with life-limiting illnesses in Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Brentwood.

To find out more about supporting the charity, visit www.sfh.org.uk/support-us, email fundraising@sfh.org.uk, or call 01708 753319.