A Great Yarmouth beauty and make-up blogger has inspired a fundraiser at a magistrates' court.

Melissa Ross, 29, was diagnosed with an inoperable low-grade brainstem and spinal cord glioma in 2015.

She had almost six years of stable scans before one showed a 3.5mm growth in April, leading to a six-month course of chemotherapy treatment, which ended last month.

Her mother, Wendy Lambourne, who works at Folkestone Magistrates' Court in Kent, organised a fundraiser for Brain Tumour Research, with staff spreading festive cheer and wearing silly seasonal hats on Friday (December 17).

Ms Lambourne, 56, whose Greatstone home was devastated by a fire in August, said: “It’s been really hard. It hit us like a bolt out of the blue when Melissa was first diagnosed with her tumour and then again, all of a sudden, in April when we found out it had grown.

"It’s just awful but she’s a right trooper and battles through it.”

The event saw 50 of Ms Lambourne’s colleagues make a donation to the charity in exchange for taking part in the festivities and there are also plans to include a cake sale to help boost funds.

Ms Lambourne, who has previously raised more than £4,000 for the charity, said: “Brain tumours aren’t something that occurred to me before, they’re not until it happens to you, but then when you find out, like in Melissa’s case, they can’t operate and you’re very limited with treatment options, that makes you more determined to raise awareness and as much money as you can.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1pc of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We were saddened to learn of Melissa’s tumour progression and hope that her next scan in January shows her chemo has been successful."

To support Wendy’s fundraiser visit www.facebook.com/donate/1029454614282709 or to find out more about Wear a Christmas Hat Day, visit www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-christmas-hat-day.