A young-at-heart mum who went into hospital for a hysterectomy only to discover she had incurable cancer has lost her two-year battle against the disease.

Carol Watts, who inspired her son to raise £2,200 for the Tele-graph & Argus-backed MRI scanner appeal, died in Bradford Royal Infirmary on Sunday after fighting cervical cancer which spread to her glands.

Today - on what would have been Carol's 40th birthday - her heartbroken husband John paid tribute to the woman whose life he says he was privileged to share for 19 years.

Mr Watts, 48, from Denholme, said: "We were enormously happy together. There was an instant attraction when we met. I feel proud to have been part of her life.

"She may have lost her dignity, but she never lost her sense of humour. She never complained and never wanted to put anyone to any trouble. I don't know anyone who didn't love her."

Mrs Watts, a sales associate with BHS in Bradford, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 1996.

"The doctors said she had six to 12 months to live," said Mr Watts. "They gave radiotherapy a ten per cent chance of working, but the tumour began to shrink. A routine scan showed a shadow, but they said it was scar tissue and we could start planning the rest of our lives."

But their hopes were dashed several months later when Mrs Watts, who had four MRI scans in Leeds, discovered the disease had spread. Despite chemotherapy, her condition had deteriorated over the past few months.

Mr Watts added: "On Saturday night when I left her, she was sitting up in bed with a newspaper and her make-up on. But I got a call on Sunday morning to say there was a problem. I rushed to the hospital and managed to hold her in my arms and all she said was 'I'm going, I'm going'."

Her son Phillip Handley, who also raised £600 for the ward where his mum was treated at BRI, said: "She was an inspiration to us all. I'm so proud she was the woman she was. I'm glad she was my mum. She always put other people before her. She was very unselfish."

Today Mr Watts will ask hospital staff and patients to share the birthday cake which was destined to be the centrepiece of a surprise party on Ward 15 for his wife. "Carol's mother and I have been spending 13 hours a day there for weeks and I can't praise the staff enough," he said. "She wasn't just a patient on that ward, she was a friend."

Mrs Watts' funeral will be held in her home town of Northampton on Tuesday.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.