THE mother of a young woman diagnosed with terminal cancer said the family has been ‘overwhelmed’ by the support received by the community.

Briar Butler, 30, of Dalton, has been told the brain tumour she has been fighting for the past three months is incurable.

A £2,000 fundraising campaign to send the former Ulverston Victoria High School student and her four-year-old son Noah to Lapland for Christmas has been smashed, with nearly £3,000 now raised.

“It’s absolutely overwhelming,” said Briar’s mum, Beverley Shirreffs, 54.

“We are so happy for Briar because it shows she is so loved.

“We are thrilled to pieces. We never thought it would take off the way it did. It’s brilliant to know she has a whole town behind her.”

The family is grateful for the extra donations as logistical complications have arisen in getting Briar, who has four sisters, to Lapland.

“She cannot fly because of the pressure so we are having to look at alternative routes to get her there,” said Beverley. “The travel insurance will be astronomical and she might need a palliative nurse and a wheelchair.We are looking for the most comfortable option. If it is three days on a boat and she arrives relaxed so be it.”

Visit www.gofundme.com/briars-christmas-wish to donate