Three young brothers are getting ready to plant daffodils in memory of their grandfather who died recently after a battle with cancer.

Daniel Marshall, nine, and his brothers Matthew, six, and Jack, nearly two, are planting the flowers with their grandmother as part of Marie Curie Cancer Care's "Field of Hope" campaign, organised to help families remember victims of cancer and raise money for the charity.

Eric Beecroft, of Harden, died of cancer of the oesophagus on September 16 at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford's Leeds Road aged 67 and the family will be paying tribute with daffodil bulbs on Saturday, November 6 in Myrtle Park, Bingley.

Marie Curie is planting 10,000 daffodils to create a "Field of Hope" in the park and are inviting Telegraph & Argus readers to make a donation.

Mr Beecroft was diagnosed with cancer in January after finding it increasingly difficult to swallow his food and having difficulty with his breathing. He underwent a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy but the cancer was so aggressive it spread to his stomach.

His widow Jean Beecroft said: "It was a devastating time for all of us. Eric was a fine figure of a man and cancer reduced from 16-and-a-half stone to seven stone in just eight months. He was a very good looking man, more than 6ft tall with jet black hair even at 67.

"To see the illness transform him was very upsetting for all the family."

Mrs Beecroft said she could not have got through her husband's illness if it was not for Marie Curie and the staff at the hospice.

"They are wonderful right from the doctors and nurses to the cleaners, they know when to make you laugh and when to let you cry," she said.

Mrs Beecroft has already raised more than £1,700 for Marie Curie. She said: "We raised £1,200 from the funeral and I have collected a further £500 since, I intend to go to Marie Curie as a volunteer in the summer."

Sharon Link, community fundraising manager at the hospice, said: "We know how important it is for people to be remembered and by supporting our Field of Hope appeal you will be making a very positive gesture in someone's memory."

Bradford and Bingley Building Society has already sponsored thousands of the bulbs and children from Myrtle Park Primary in Bingley are helping with the planting.

To make a donation to the appeal call (01274) 337035.