LEUKAEMIA sufferer Julia Hember has died after a brave 12-month battle against the disease. Surrounded by her friends and family, the 33-year-old was pronounced dead on Sunday morning.

Last week, doctors told the former Melksham schoolgirl she only had days to live after a sharp increase in the level of cancerous cells in her body.

Parents Paul and Mary, of Codford near Warminster, her three brothers, and close friends rushed to Julia's bedside to spend the last precious hours with her.

The Royal Navy flew her youngest brother, Marcus, straight to St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, where a medical team was caring for his sister.

While Julia was undergoing her agonising treatment programme, her mum, Mary, kept a constant bedside vigil, often sleeping in the same room to offer comfort.

She said: "We are all devastated and don't know how we are going to cope with it. Nobody will replace Julia. She took it very calmly when she heard she only had a couple of days to live.

"All the way through her attitude has been that it was no good asking why it was happening she was determined to face the situation and deal with it."

The leukaemia sufferer's transplant operation was postponed twice due to illness, but she finally received treatment on March 6, and was a week short of reaching a major landmark 100 days after the operation.

Her mum said: "Before going back into hospital she was worried because she had awful pains in her bones, similar to ones she had experienced before.

"On Tuesday doctors told her she couldn't receive any further treatment they could only make her feel more comfortable.

"She couldn't talk during her last couple of days. We took it turns to sit around her bed and hold her hand."

She loved horses and for her funeral on Tuesday, Miss Hember will be taken to St Etheldreda's Church, London, in a horse-drawn hearse.

Her family will continue to raise awareness of leukaemia and persuade people to join a blood donor register compiled by the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Instead of flowers, Mr and Mrs Hember are urging people to make donations to St Bartholomew's Hospital Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Fund, and are planning to hold an annual fundraising event in their daughter's memory.

Mr Hember said: "Julia had lots of friends and touched people in so many different ways.

"We have already attracted more than 1,000 people on to the register and would now like it if donations were made to the other charity." The Wiltshire Times set up the Save A Life appeal to attract volunteers, and staff from Virgin Mobile and Wiltshire County Council donated blood samples.

Born in London on April 6 1970, Miss Hember moved to South Wraxall and spent nearly all her school life at Stonar School near Melksham.

After studying for an arts foundation course at Trowbridge College she studied at Hornsey College, Middlesex, graduating with a fine arts degree.

For most of her working life she was a freelance photographer, taking pictures for Channel 4 and The Guardian newspaper.