Tributes have been paid to fundraiser Bridget McNally, from Blackwood, after her eight year battle with cancer sadly came to an end last week.
Despite her illness, the 50-year-old raised more than £300,000 to help fight the disease she was suffering from.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 which then spread to her bones and liver but she fought on during her treatment and raised thousands of pounds.
Bridget has helped raise over £200,000 for Cancer Research UK by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and is also the chair of the Valleys Relay for Life. In addition to this, she is a Cancer Campaigns ambassador and was awarded an MBE in 2009.
Born in Rugby in, the Midlands, Bridget moved in 1988 to work as a primary school teacher in Blackwood and Trelewis.
Blackwood town councilllor Andrew Farina-Childs said: “She was a very bubbly character who touched the hearts of everyone she met. She had a way with people and was so passionate. It’s an extremely sad loss for her family, but also for the whole community in Blackwood.”
Jeff Cuthbert, Labour’s Assembly candidate for Caerphilly, said: “I am deeply saddened to hear about Bridget’s passing. I knew her well and worked with her for a number of years on her ‘Relay for Life’ fundraising campaigns in Caerphilly and the Rhymney Valley.
“As a cancer survivor myself, her endless optimism and joie-de-vivre in the face of recurring serious illness was an inspiration. Bridget worked so hard to raise awareness about cancer and was determined not to let it beat her. Her work to fundraise will continue, but it will not be the same withoutBridget.”