A devoted daughter has embarked on a fundraising campaign for Marie Curie Cancer Care after her mother’s life was cut short by cancer.

Vicki Burton, 38, of Ilkley, has a target to raise £16,000 – enough to cover the cost of her mum’s care at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford.

Her mother, Maggie Gilbert, was just 67 when she died at the hospice in December last year.

Maggie, who also had two sons, Sean and Jason, was extremely well known in Ilkley, where she taught aerobics for 30 years to hundreds of people.

She featured in the pages of the Ilkley Gazette on many occasions from her involvement with Ilkley Rugby Club and Bracken Ghyll Golf Club in Addingham, where she raised over £70,000 for the clubs, and also winning Ilkley in Bloom.

More than 300 people attended her funeral at All Saints Church in Ilkley, where a collection for Marie Curie raised £2,300. Now Vicki, who is married to Neil, with two children Reeve, aged six and Maddie, four, plans to continue the fundraising for the Bradford hospice by taking part in the hospice’s Sri Lanka Trek in November 2015.

Participants need to raise a minimum of £3,250, but Vicki hopes to raise much more than that and has already organised a ladies’ fashion show in partnership with Attic Womenswear, and a glamour evening to be held at the Craiglands Hotel on Friday October 10.

She said: “Unfortunately mum’s life was cut short by a terrible cancer – one that took us all by surprise and which left her with little dignity.

“Cancer of the vulva is not very common and many of the nurses themselves had not seen the type of wounds my mum had before.

“I can never thank Marie Curie enough for how they cared for not just my mum, but also for all the family. Nothing was ever too much.

“I have been searching for a way to honour both my mum’s memory and support the wonderful work the hospice has done and I have found the perfect thing.

“I have signed up to complete the trek in Sri Lanka next year with the hospice.

“My mum loved walking and travelling and this felt like the right way to thank them.

“This will be a lifelong campaign for me – I will never stop.”

You can contribute to Vicki’s fundraising campaign by donating on her fundraising page at: Justgiving.com/vikburton or text VIKB67 £1-£10 to 70070. Vicki is also selling T-shirts with all profits to Marie Curie, which can be bought at fabrily.com/RUN FORWINE.

Follow her progress on Facebook – facebook.com/trek4care and on Twitter @trek4care.

Tickets for the fashion show and pamper/night are on sale now, priced £40, from Vicki at trek4care@hotmail.com or call 07793 049858.