A TERMINALLY ill cancer patient enjoyed the fairytale wedding she had always dreamed of after friends helped organise her perfect day.

Karen Hegarty had always dreamed of having a big wedding but it was too expensive when she got married at 17.

So when she was diagnosed with lung cancer six months ago, Karen and husband George started to think a second wedding would be the ideal happy memory for the family.

Yesterday, with the help of her best friend Dawn Furness, Karen's dream of her perfect big day came true when she got the chance to wear an ivory wedding dress and renew her vows at St Paul's Church, Oswaldtwistle.

Karen, 43, of Foxfield Close, Oswaldtwistle, has two sons, Nigel, 23, and Ashlee, 11, and is trying to stay positive through her illness and said the day had been "brilliant".

She said: "This was my dream and now it's happened. I am absolutely delighted."

Best friend Dawn, 41, of Milton Street, co-ordinated the plans and she and her husband paid for the happy couple to spend a night in the wedding suite at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel.

Dawn said: "It has been brilliant and just looking at Karen's smile was worth it. She has off days when she gets tired and when we were planning the wedding she was feeling quite ill. I wasn't sure if I'd pushed her to much but this has really cheered her up."

Other friends, including Linda Morris, Mandy Duffy and Trisha Flemington, rallied round to provide the couple with a limousine to take Karen and her brother Grant, who gave her away, to the church, a three-tier wedding cake and to make sure Karen's hair and make-up was perfect.

Linda, who lives next door to Karen and George, also persuaded holiday company Fraser Eagle to donate a £50 holiday voucher, a bottle of champagne was donated by the local Co-op and a bottle of champagne was placed in the hotel room by staff at the Dunkenhalgh.

Karen said: "The chemo didn't agree with me and I got quite ill at one stage so they put me on steroids. I had thought of renewing our vows and I'd even bought a dress a few years ago. When I was diagnosed with cancer it seemed even more of a reason to do it.

"Dawn pushed me into it and I can't thank her enough for doing that.

"She is a brilliant friend. We got married in a registrar's office but I'd always wanted the whole dress and flowers."

George, 50, who is Dawn's carer, said: "It's all about positive thoughts and goals are a big part of life at the moment to stay focused. It was a fantastic day."