A CHARITY could be in line for a total of £50,000 through various donations in memory of a mum of two.

Tim Phelps is set to cycle 53 miles in memory of his wife of 30 years alongside more than 100 of his friends and family, raising £25,000 for East Lancashire Hospice.

The 56-year-old from Somerset Avenue, Wilpshire, will embark on the challenge on Monday, June 17, after Nicola Jayne Phelps died of cancer after being looked after by the Blackburn-based charity for the last three months of her life.

It comes after Blackburn Chemicals donated £25,000 to the hospice in memory of Mrs Phelps who was a family friend of CEO Steven Lamb.

In April 2016, Mrs Phelps, known to close family as Jayne, was experiencing some lower back pain but thought nothing of it until a pea-sized lump appeared between two ribs.

Within three weeks it had grown significantly and she was referred to hospital.

An ultrasound and series of tests and scans identified that she had cancer in around 16 places including both lungs, lymph nodes, cervix and thigh bone.

Mr Phelps, who works as a monitoring manager at Lloyd Bank, said: “We were told by the specialists that it would be incurable and that it was now about palliative care.

“Jayne was very healthy. She exercised every day, had a wonderfully healthy diet, didn’t really drink often and she never smoked. The cancer came completely out of the blue.

“In April 2016, the only worry we had was that we hadn’t booked a summer holiday. Things can change so quickly.”

They married in 1985 and have two boys - Josh, now 24, and Joel, now 20.

Mr Phelps said the cancer robbed his wife, who worked at Fox’s Biscuits in Kirkham, of one function after another.

As the pain increased and her condition worsened she was taken to A&E a couple of times where a palliative nurse suggested it may be worth staying at the hospice to receive specialist pain management.

She entered the hospice on June 22 last year and died on September 23.

Mr Phelps, who has raised around £18,000 so far, said: “Jayne suffered a cruel and undignified death but the hospice gave her back some of the dignity that her cancer had cruelly taken away.

“East Lancashire Hospice looked after her personal care and pain management.

“Nothing was too much trouble and everything the staff did they did with real care, skill and true empathy.

“They couldn’t have treated the family any better than they did.’

“Jayne was a special person. She was my soul mate and best friend.

“Her death has changed my outlook on life. You have to lead everyday as if it is your last.

“When Jayne was in the hospice we were touched by the care she received.

“My sons and I wanted to raise some money to help and cycling seemed the obvious thing to do.

He said: “The hospice means so much to me. What they did for my wife was indescribable.”

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/NicolaJaynePhelps.