EIGHT months after their nine-year-old daughter died from a brain tumour, her family have come up with a beautiful way of keeping her memory alive this Christmas by giving the gift of Hope to others.

Hope Colley, from Garswood, died on February 6 after a two year battle with a tumour on her brain stem called Medulloblastoma.

Now facing their first Christmas without their beloved daughter, her parents Ali and Greg Colley decided to launch Hope's Big Give in her memory so that she can 'give hope to others this Christmas.'

Her proud mum Ali Colley, 46, said: "Hope had an operation to remove most of the tumour and had radio and chemo therapy for a year, which is the same treatment adults have, so she did really suffer.

"We thought after all of that, that we had got it all and she went into remission, but in March 2017, she broke her hip and despite the consultant thinking it hadn't come back due to the spread pattern, it was a secondary tumour and we were told it had spread back to her brain.

"By September 2017 we were told she was terminal, and she lived another six months having palliative treatment but by that time she lost all of her faculties, was completely paralysed, lost her ability to speak and her eyes were affected.

"But she was our brave girl and never moaned, never said why me, and while she could she kept a beautiful smile on her face.

"She had always had time for others and hated arguments and violence of any kind, she would break up little playful fights with her brothers and was a huge animal lover.

"In fact before she died she asked me to train her dog Pippa to be a service dog once she was gone and I have done that for her - that's how thoughtful she was."

After Hope died, dog walker Ali says that she needed to find ways to distract herself and heard from a friend about volunteering at Holly House in Wigan which offers help and temporary accommodation for women escaping abuse - often alongside their children.

The mum-of-four added: "I realised that these women and children often arrive with nothing but the clothes on their back in a horrible situation and needed help.

"Knowing how caring Hope was and how difficult this Christmas will be for us as a family without her, I decided to do something in her memory to help others, as I believe that is what kind of person she would have become.

"In her memory I am hoping that people will donate nice clothes and gifts this Christmas for women and children in this service, because everyone deserves a gift of nice things such as make up, perfume and toys to help them to feel like they are special.

"I posted on Facebook that this Christmas Day, myself and Greg and the boys would like to take in gifts for the women and children and the response I had was crazy with 7,000 people reacting, so now I'm hoping to make this a thing for other shelters and services too.

"I truly believe this is something Hope would have loved and it has given us something positive to focus on - I hope others will help me to give a piece of Hope to others in her memory."

All donated items must be new and be labelled as Hope’s Big Give.

Donation drop off points are from 9am to 1pm from Monday to Friday at the Storehouse project at Billinge family church, 31 Crank Road and at St Aidan’s School, Billinge during school hours.

For more on Hope visit @prayforhopey on Facebook.