A DALTON school came together for a mammoth morning of fundraising to celebrate the life of a "brilliant mum" who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer.

Joanne Hulbert, 42, from Dalton, died on August 27 in the care of St Mary's Hospice after the cancer spread to her liver.

Her ten-year-old son Charlie is a pupil at St Mary's school in Dalton and after discussions with Mrs Hulbert's wife Simon, the school decided to host a coffee morning in memory of Charlie's mum.

Mr Hulbert was amazed at the support from the community as scores of parents descended on the school's canteen to help raise more than £1,500 for charity.

He said: "The support we've received has been completely overwhelming. She looked at everybody the same and I know that she'll be sorely missed.

"Her death happened so quickly which was potentially a blessing for myself and Charlie but then at the same time we didn't have time to think about what had happened.

"She was so fun-loving and was such a great mum to Charlie. She loved me, she loved him and she really would do anything for anybody."

As part of the fundraiser, a raffle and a bake sale helped to draw in the crowds and pupils were given the chance to get their own back on their teachers by splatting them in the face with pies.

READ MORE: Barrow schoolchildren get baking in preparation for Macmillan coffee morning

Charlie helped to organise the day and encouraged other boys and girls at the school to don orange and pink items of clothing respectively. Orange is the colour of Crooklands Casuals' home kit who Charlie plays for and pink is synonymous with breast cancer.

The funds raised will be split between Macmillan Cancer Support and St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston. However, a portion of the money will also go towards erecting a bench in memory of Mrs Hulbert in the school playground.

Lisa Robinson taught Charlie in Year 5 and quickly became friends with his mum as they bonded over their dogs and Manchester United.

She said: "It has been busy from the get-go and it was lovely to see Charlie chuffed to bits with the turnout. Jo would have absolutely loved today and she would have been first in line to chuck the pies.

"She was always there for everybody and she was at every single school event without fail. She lit up the room as soon as she walked in and would always be making a good joke out of something funny."

Another poignant celebration also took place at St Aiden's Church Hall in Barrow where a mother raised £1,100 through a cake sale, tombola and raffle on what would have been her son's 13th birthday.

READ MORE: Dalton school to host charity event after tragic death of a "brilliant mum"

With the help of her family and friends, Jo-Ann Ellis has raised more than £130,000 for the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group after her son Jake died of a rare form of cancer in 2008 aged five.

Mrs Ellis said: "I wanted to keep busy; I didn't want to mope around at home. Jake absolutely loved chocolate cake and I can picture him now with his chocolate chops.

"I think he would have absolutely loved today and would have been so proud of what we have achieved.

"It has been an emotional day and it never gets any easier. Every year it gets harder to imagine what he would have looked like now but at the same time we do our fundraising because we want to stop other families from losing their children.

"As long as people and children are still passing away from cancer we are going to carry on fundraising and fighting to find a cure."

Another coffee morning was also organised by Jamie Taylor at St John's Church in Barrow Island.

The event acted as a poignant tribute to Mr Taylor's ex fiancé Adam Johnson who died of bowel cancer last year aged 35.

He said: "We are very happy with the amount we managed to raise. I didn't think anyone would come but the community came to show their support and we had more than 50 raffle prizes to give away which was great.

"Personally, this event was for him and I just wish he could have been there. If he was still alive and fighting cancer the money would have gone towards trying to save his life."

Other establishments in Barrow also put on a cake spread for Macmillan with many raising hundreds of pounds for charity.

Barrow police station raise more than £200 with their effort and Morgan Sindall at BAE Systems amassed £150 through their coffee morning.

Staff at Furness General Hospital also put on a selection of cakes and managed to make £130 for Macmillan Cancer Support.