Tributes flooded in last night for inspirational fundraiser Jane Tomlinson, after she lost her seven-year battle with cancer.

Friends, family, politicians and the charities that benefited from the £1.75m raised by Mrs Tomlinson through a series of endurance events honoured her courage and spirit after news of her death emerged.

Mrs Tomlinson's family said they were heartbroken at the death of the wife and mother, who died at St Gemma's Hospice, in Leeds, on Monday night.

And Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the mother-of-three as a "daily inspiration" with "amazing spirit and strength".

Mrs Tomlinson, 43, from Rothwell, Leeds, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990. She had a mastectomy and lymph nodes removed from under her arm.

The cancer returned in her breast in 1993 and spread to her lungs and bones in 2000, when doctors told her she only had months to live.

But Mrs Tomlinson defied the experts and spent the next seven years of her life raising money for charity through challenges such as marathons, triathlons, a tandem cycle ride from Rome to Leeds and a 4,200-mile bike ride across America, from San Francisco to New York.

She was awarded an MBE for her work in June 2003 and a CBE in June this year.

In a statement yesterday, her husband, Mike, and children, Suzanne, 21, Rebecca, 19, and Steven, ten, said: "We are, as a family, heartbroken at this loss but we know this extends to all her family and friends.

"Jane has always said her family has been the greatest joy in life and we feel honoured to have been blessed with such a wonderful person."

They added: "Everyone who knew Jane felt there was an invincibility about her but we always knew that this day was inevitable.

"As a family we are humbled to have lived with such a great person who we will always love.

"Seven years ago her aim was to leave us with fantastic memories. None of us expected how fantastic those would be."

Charities helped by Mrs Tomlinson, including Sparks, a children's medical research charity, Cancer Research UK, Breast Cancer Care, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Sheffield, and Martin House Hospice near Boston Spa, all described their sadness at the news of her death.

Maureen Rutter, regional director for Macmillan Cancer Support in the north, said: "Jane was a remarkable woman whose amazing physical feats inspired many people living with cancer.

"She refused to lie down and be beaten, this small and very humble woman was a real powerhouse and I think she will always be remembered for her courage, conviction and sheer determination when faced with adversity."

At Downing Street, Mr Brown said: "Jane's mission in life was a simple one: to make the most of every day and to help others, and she not only achieved that several times over, but inspired millions of others along the way.

"We will remember her amazing spirit and strength and that exceptional charity work, and she will be a daily inspiration to our generation to fight on against the terrible scourge of cancer."

Tory leader David Cameron added his condolences and said he had "long admired Jane Tomlinson's selfless and inspiring work".

Ryan Bowd and Martyn Hollingworth were co-riders with Mrs Tomlinson in her Ride Across America.

They said: "Inspirational and remarkable are words that are often batted around easily in our modern times of pseudo-celebrity and reality television hero manufacturing.

"Most people who we use these words to describe are often not worthy or live up completely to the carefully honed and projected images of themselves. This was not so in Jane Tomlinson's case."

They described Mrs Tomlinson as an "ordinary woman", a "loving wife" and a "caring mother".

"A person like you or I who did amazing and remarkable things whilst suffering a pain that few can imagine, while all the time having an understanding of her own mortality that most could not bear.

"Jane was, is and shall continue to be an inspiration. She exemplified qualities of the human spirit that most people can only aspire to.

"She demonstrated that being diagnosed terminally ill is not a death sentence and that existing dreams and goals should not be abandoned or in her case new ones not forged."

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where Mrs Tomlinson trained and worked as a radiographer and for which she raised money through her charity work, said she would be sadly missed by friends and colleagues at the hospitals.

Model Nell McAndrew, who took part in and helped promote Mrs Tomlinson's Leeds 10K Run For All in June this year, said she was honoured to have known her and that her memory would live on.

You can pay your tribute to Jane Tomlinson online at:

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

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