A NURSE who looks after terminally ill patients in their homes has become a national ambassador for the charity she represents.

Dawn Dyne, 46, has been a Marie Curie Cancer care nurse for four years and has been named Marie Curie Nurse of the Year.

She was selected from 1,500 Marie Curie nurses in England and presented with champagne, flowers and a weekend break by actress Linda Bellingham, at a ceremony in London.

Mrs Dyne will now help to launch multi-million pound fundraising events, speak at lunches, open new Marie Curie shops and give interviews to the media.

Mrs Dyne, who has two teenage daughters, trained as an Army nurse and was with Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nurses Corps for eight years.

She also worked in care homes before joining Marie Curie. She lives in Catterick, North Yorkshire, and works in Sedgefield, County Durham, and the Dales.

She said: "We go into somebody's house when they are very vulnerable. It is a very, very difficult time and when you go in you cannot say everything is going to be alright because it isn't. It is a very fulfilling job to know you have helped someone at a very difficult time and helped them stay at home with their loved ones around them."