Kate Hardcastle, 65, used her free bus pass to travel the length and breadth of the country visiting as many BBC local radio stations as possible, to raise money and awareness into pancreatic cancer research.

Kate lost both her mother and brother to the killer disease.

She began her journey on March 2 on the 55A Stagecoach bus from Bolton-le-Sands accompanied by her cross border collie Goldie.

Kate then visited 36 stations including Radio Lancashire, Coventry, Cornwall, Southampton, Kent, Norfolk, Nottingham and her final destination of BBC Radio Cumbria, before returning home on March 21.

She said the people she had met on the buses had been very supportive, especially the dog lovers.

"Everybody's been fantastic," she said.

"People have been putting money in my box and talking to me.

"One bus driver said I was an inspiration to him because he'd been listening to me on the bus."

She said doctors first thought her brother Terry had indigestion, but months later he was still in pain.

He had tests for a number of conditions before he was eventually diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

"When you have pancreatic cancer you literally starve to death," said Kate.

"My brother was in so much pain he was asking me to shoot him. I didn't want others to go through what I had. I thought, 'something's got to be done'.

"My mum was fine, just going out for a cup of tea and a bun, but the day after I saw her, she died.

"The main thing is awareness, awareness, awareness and hopefully they might get some tests and screening. Nobody knows you've got it until it's too late."

If you would like to support Kate's campaign to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer Research UK, donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/katehardcastle2