FORMER East Lancashire TV and radio presenter Pattie Coldwell has died after a long battle with cancer.

The ex-Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School pupil had been told the cancer had spread to her brain and was inoperable.

Coldwell, who was 50, was best-known for presenting consumer and current affairs TV shows including Open Air, with Eamonn Holmes, and Nationwide on the BBC.

She also fronted You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 and talk shows on BBC Radio Five Live.

She recently said the cancer had been "a gift" because it made her determined to make the last months of her life her happiest.

Known for her gravelly voice, she also presented shows for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and featured on ITV daytime chat show Loose Women.

She married Evan, a 29-year-old fisherman, at the start of this year after meeting him on a family holiday on a Caribbean island in 1998.

She had previously been married to journalist Tony Kerner for six years.

The couple had a daughter, Dannie, who is now 10.

Coldwell, who described herself as "outspoken and confident", also said she would be buried in the maroon dress in which she wed Evan.

She said Dannie would wear her bridesmaid's dress, "because that would remind her of the wedding, which was such a happy time for us all".