The daughter of a local actress is raising money for the hospice where her mum was cared for so well in her last days.

Jo Kirk said the staff at Eden Valley Hospice were fantastic with her mum, actress Liz Fitton, 65, of Dearham.

Mrs Fitton found out she had stage four pancreatic cancer about five and a half months ago. She'd had a bad stomach and at first doctors thought she might have gall stones.

She spent the last five days of her life at Eden Valley Hospice as she wanted, surrounded by her family. Liz died on Tuesday, November 8.

Her daughters Jo Kirk and Sammy Fitton-Marshall, 30, were able to stay at the hospice with her.

Jo said: “Those five days were so special. It might sound weird but they were lovely just being with mum.”

Mrs Fitton also has a son, Jem Harris, 44, stepson, Rob Dawson, and five grandchildren, one of whom was able to celebrate their birthday at the hospice with their gran.

Mrs Fitton herself had rather a special birthday last December when Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sang happy birthday to her.

Mr Corbyn was visiting Cockermouth in the wake of the floods on December 10.

When he then found out she was unwell months later, he sent her a video message saying he was sorry she was ill.

Now Jo wants to raise at least £1,000 for the Carlisle hospice because the staff were so brilliant with her mum

She said: “It's about the person, not the illness which was very, very important to my mum. She worked in care work and then she was a social worker.”

Jo is selling her handmade crafts, including Christmas decorations, at her stall at Barts Car Boot Sale in Workington at 1pm on Saturday – what would have been Liz's 66th birthday.

Jo is also holding a raffle with prizes like a spa day for two at Armathwaite Hall, meals at Tpazz in Workington and Jack's Surf Bar in Allonby and rare gamers' products. Tickets are on sale until Christmas Eve.

Next year Jo also wants to tackle the Great North Run, which she says will be no mean feat as she is 19 stone at the moment.

Keeping busy is helping her at this low time; she has returned to work as a child-minder and said the families she works for have been very supportive.

She said: “Mum would want me to be there for my girls and my son and crack on with it.”

Mrs Fitton was always in plays and was a member of a number of local theatre companies including Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society.

She and her husband Keith were flooded twice when they lived in Waterloo Street, Cockermouth in 2005 and 2009.

In 2009, Mr Fitton had to be winched up onto a rescue helicopter.

The couple had to leave their two dogs behind, who were later rescued by the RSPCA.

Their Waterloo Street house was then rented out and flooded again, which is how Mrs Fitton met Mr Corbyn.