COLLEAGUES are set to form a guard of honour for a "courageous and selfless" Barrow police officer who has died after fulfilling her dream of renewing her wedding vows.

After she was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2014, PC Amanda Rawlinson and her husband Mark vowed to use the time they had left together to the fullest – creating a list of things they "always meant to do" before her illness progressed.

Last June, the couple stood in front of their friends and family and made the hallowed promises to one another once more, more than 10 years since they tied the knot in Jamaica in 2004.

Mrs Rawlinson served as a police officer, working in Barrow, Dalton, Askam and Ulverston, for 17 years, alongside her husband, a police sergeant.

Together with a group of 24 other women battling cancer, Mrs Rawlinson was one of the Lookin' Good Feelin' Great calendar girls who raised more than £20,000 for the oncology unit at Furness General Hospital and Cancer Research.

Following a brave battle, the 50-year-old died just over a week ago surrounded by her family.

Tomorrow, Mr Rawlinson and their five children, will be greeted by a guard of honour made up of the couple's colleagues as they gather for her funeral.

Superintendent Rob O’Connor said: "Amanda joined the police family in 2000 as a Detention Officer working in the custody area at Barrow police station.

"She then became a PCSO in 2005, and worked on the Parkside Ward in Barrow, and then in Dalton and Askam.

"Using the experience she gained in both these roles, in 2008 she became a police officer, and worked in both Barrow and Ulverston.

"Amanda was raised in the Dalton area, and therefore as a PCSO and PC she demonstrated real public service in ensuring that the communities where she was from and brought her own family up in remained safe.

"Amanda has been a loyal servant of the constabulary for the last 17 years. She fought a long and determined battle against cancer, and her courage and selflessness really are to be admired.

"She will be greatly missed by her husband Mark who is also a serving police officer, her family, and her colleagues and friends both from within and outside of the police."

The funeral will be held at St Mary's Church in Dalton at 1.30pm.