Gemma LambethA YOUNG woman who fought against cancer, and campaigned to force a Swindon pub to change its rules, has died.

Gemma Lambeth, 19, waged a courageous fight against leukaemia and refused to be seen as a victim.

In July last year she battled against the dress code of a town centre bar.

The Walkabout, in Fleet Street, refused her entry because she was wearing a hat to cover the fact that her hair had fallen out after intensive chemotherapy.

The trip to the pub was the first time she had been out with friends since a bone marrow transplant in April.

Gemma, of Tattershall, Toothill, stood up to the pub and encouraged others who had received similar treatment to come forward.

Another man who had also been turned away from the bar for wearing a hat, alopecia sufferer Paris Johnson, came forward and the pub was persuaded to relax its rules. In September the Advertiser reported that Gemma, who had fortnightly checks-ups at the John Radciffe Hospital, Oxford, was treated to a surprise luxury day out.

She and her mother Jackie, 41, were whisked away to Blunsdon House Hotel to be pampered in style for a day which included facials, a manicure, a sauna and a soak in the whirlpool.

It was all thanks to Jackie's colleagues at Swindon's Ridge Green Medical Centre, who had spent weeks co-ordinating the luxury day out in secret.

Local businesses, including the hotel, donated gifts ranging from flowers to a family photo session to make the day extra special. Gemma leaves her mother Jackie, dad Paul, 44, brother Steve, 17, and sister Sophie, nine.

Gareth Bethell