'Bucket list' teen Alice Pyne dies

A teenager who gained national fame after writing a "bucket list" of her dreams has died of cancer.

Alice Pyne, 17, from Ulverston, Cumbria, completed most of her list, including whale watching and meeting Take That.

Alice was feted by celebrities and politicians as the nation rallied to help fulfil her dreams.

The teenager, who lived with her parents, Simon and Vicky, and younger sister, Milly, achieved many of her wishes, including going whale watching and meeting Take That before she died yesterday after battling illness for the last six years.

In a posting on her blog, her mother Vicky gave the sad news.

"Our darling girl, Alice, gained her angel wings today. She passed away peacefully with Simon, Milly and myself by her side. We are devastated and know that our lives will never again be the same."

Tributes to Alice flooded in to the website, while comedian David Walliams also posted on his Twitter page: "I am so sad about the passing of Alice-Pyne, who I met through the Pride of Britain Awards. What a beautiful and courageous girl. x"

Alice started the blog in 2011 telling how hospital scans showed Hodgkin's lymphoma - a cancer of the white blood cells - was spreading through her body and that her mother had encouraged her to create a wish list.

It led to a flood of offers as her webpage became an internet hit with Twitter followers worldwide.

She had been campaigning to increase bone marrow donation in the UK and last year received the British Empire Medal for services to charity after raising more than £100,000.

On her bucket list, Alice wrote that she hoped that everyone in the UK would sign up as a bone marrow donor.

Other wishes ticked off on her bucket list included a visit to Cadbury World, staying in the Chocolate room at Alton Towers, entering her beloved Labrador dog Mabel in a dog show and to go to her school leavers prom.