Karen Roberts, 43, of Windmill, Halkyn, died on May 1, after fighting a complex cancer which attacked her lymph glands, despite having recently undergone a successful bone marrow transplant.

Her friend and newly-elected council vice-chairman Colin Legg paid tribute to the mother-of-two, who he was planning to name as his consort when he becomes council chairman next year.

Cllr Legg said: "Karen was a very good friend to me and I hope I was the same to her.

"She had been through so much – on Christmas Day, she was very ill and had only been given six hours to live, but she had her bone marrow transplant and pulled through.

"I wanted to name her as my consort because of our friendship and I know that she would have done an exceptional job in the role and would have loved doing it, but she was never able to find out."

Mrs Roberts, a keen fundraiser, had organised many events to help raise money in her area and was a member of Halkyn Community Council.

Mrs Roberts leaves son Lee, 22 and daughter Samantha, 18, as well her mother, Joan Jones, who also lives in Halkyn.