A woman in a long term battle with cancer has been 'given a new lease of life' after being sent on a free holiday.

Frances Burns took a break from gruelling hospital appointments to spend a week at Club La Costa World in Spain with her three children.

The family arrived in Spain after UK charity Grant A Smile collaborated with CLC World Charity Holidays to give them the holiday of a lifetime.

The mum of three, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and still lives with the disease, said: "In the past it has always been doom and gloom but this holiday was like a new lease of life. "For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t in any pain.

“I was totally relaxed. It was therapeutic for me and really amazing. I feel as if I’ve got back to my old self again.”

Their days on the resort were spent enjoying downtime together as a family and taking part in resort activities such as horse riding.

She added: “The children didn’t want to come back home.

“They deserved this holiday and I’m glad we were able to get away from the stress of it all.

"The cancer definitely took a toll on the family. Jamie is my carer and it’s also meant he’s had the chance for a bit of relaxation as well, which is just great.

"I could never have afforded this.

"There were tears in my eyes when I found out we had been given a free holiday."

Grant a Smile is a social enterprise that cleans the homes of families dealing with chronic or terminal illnesses, free of charge.

It was set up by a former teacher and mum of three from Loughton Joyce Obaseki.

It also grants wishes to children whose parents have illnesses that reduce life expectancy and the quality of life.

Ms Obaseki said: “When we first met the Burns family, Frances told us the children were having a hard time dealing with her cancer diagnosis.

“Instead of carefree days, happy memories, and adventures, their childhood was filled with hospital appointments, pain and stress with nothing to look forward to.

"So we decided to give them a chance to make true happy memories to look back on.

“Poor health can strike anyone at any time and our aim is to help families practically when this happens so they know they are not alone."

To volunteer or donate, go to www.grantasmile.org.uk