As houses across the land switch on their Christmas tree, hang decorations and squabble over Quality Street, life looks a little bit different for one family this year.
The festive month feels distinctively different this year - after their “rock” mum-of-five Ellen Louise Francis died from brain cancer, six days after a terminal diagnosis, aged 35 - on her daughter Donna Marie’s birthday.
The heart wrenching loss has left the family bracing for their first Christmas without her - but there are flickers of fear after funeral costs decimated the family's savings.
