Bride Louisa Holgate died of cancer just two hours after marrying her boyfriend, Eslo Coetzee.

The 28-year-old, of Davenport Road, Witney, was determined to go ahead with the ceremony even though she knew she was terminally ill.

The couple exchanged their vows at the Sobell House hospice in Oxford.

They had known each other for two years through the Oxfordshire Community Church and became inseparable after travelling to a church conference in Poland seven months ago.

When the two registrars arrived at the hospice, Miss Holgate was too weak to give her consent for them to carry out a civil marriage. The pastor of their church, John Elwood, conducted a marriage service and blessing.

Mr Coetzee, 26, who is originally from South Africa, works as an account executive in Bicester. He said: "It was our biggest dream to get married and although we were not married in law, we were in spirit.

"When the pastor said we were man and wife Louisa said 'boy, oh boy' and when I showed her the ring she said 'wow'. She was a phenomenal person and I was madly in love with her." Miss Holgate was first diagnosed with cancer when she was 25 after she found a lump in her breast.

After treatment she was well enough to take a job as project development officer for Witney Families Together, which is setting up a family centre. She helped secure a £95,000 Lottery grant.

Health visitor Trudy Johnson said: "The project would not be where it is today if it were not for her. She picked it up by the socks and pushed for it all the time."

Miss Holgate lived with her parents David and Rosemary and had three sisters, Rebecca, 31, Naomi, 30, and 18-year-old Emily.

Naomi said: "She was fighting cancer right to the end. Staff at the hospice said they had never met anyone like her. They expected her to die two days before the wedding but she knew she was getting married."

The family held a service to celebrate Louisa's life at Witney Methodist Church on Saturday.