THE parents of a young Aiskew woman who died from a brain tumour said this week that they had found no local support groups for people of her age with such life-threatening illnesses.

The last wish of 23-year-old Miss Cara Richmond, whose funeral took place at Aiskew Methodist church last Friday, will be observed this weekend when her ashes are scattered in the waters of the Moray Firth, in Scotland.

Her parents, Philip and Hazel, will make a special trip to the area visited by their only daughter last year with the help of Wensleydale Round Table so that she could see the dolphins.

Miss Richmond was given between six and eight months to live after a scan revealed an inoperable tumour the size of a plum on her brain stem in 1997.

She survived for three and a half years following a course of radiotherapy, some chemotherapy, support from Macmillan nurses and her local GP practice, day care at St Teresa's hospice, Darlington, and respite care at Teesside hospice.

Miss Richmond's parents paid tribute to the work of medical and nursing teams, but said that in her social life there had been a large gap which had affected her and the family.

Mr Richmond said: "There seem to be no local organisations in North Yorkshire where late teenagers or early adults with cancer-related illnesses can meet up.

"We cannot have been the only family to have faced this problem. There are no programmes running for this kind of thing. Even the doctors looked around for something.

"We found a group in Ripon but it was still a mixture of age groups. Even though Cara was physically disabled, she was quite switched-on right to the end."

The family now receives the newsletter of the UK Brain Tumour Society and Mrs Richmond said the illness was described as the forgotten cancer.

She said her daughter's illness began when she experienced tingling in the face and complained of pains in the arm. "She was adamant about going to hospital, where a young doctor would not let her go until they found out what it was.

"It frightens and worries me a bit to think about what would have happened if she had not taken herself off to hospital. People want to be made aware of the symptoms."

Miss Richmond, who also leaves a 16-year-old brother, Kean, was a nanny and a groom at the age of 19 and worked with Riding for the Disabled.

Her mother said: "Over time she accepted what was going to happen, but everyone who met her said she was always smiling.

"She enjoyed children and horses and loved wild animals. After she went up to the Moray Firth she said she wanted her ashes scattered among the dolphins and whales.