Tania Mackelden was hoping to be watching from the stands on Monday, cheering on as teams played a charity football clash in her honour.

But the event will now be a memorial match, after the much-loved mum tragically passed away.

The 48-year-old died in the early hours of this morning, after a long battle with cancer.

Her daughter Chloe described her as the "bravest, strongest, most amazing lady."

Son Tom, 19, said: "I haven't just lost a mum I've lost my best friend, my personal bank account and someone who I could tell anything and everything and know she'd never pass judgement.

"Sitting here now I don't know how I'll cope but I will get through it because I know that's what my mum would want."

Mrs Mackelden, from Greenhill in Staplehurst, was told she had just months to live after it emerged the disease had spread to her liver, rib cage, bone marrow, spine, and brain.

Upon receiving the shock prognosis, her 19-year-old son Tom had arranged for a game to be held in honour of his footy mad mum at Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium.

He said he wanted to use it to support her in her battle, while also raising money for Cancer Research UK. So far he has received more than £3,500 in donations.

The match is still set to go ahead on Monday - four years to the day she received her first diagnosis - and will now be a celebration of her life.

It will see a team of family friends called Mackelden’s XI take on Tom’s former teammates from Maidstone United’s academy. Kick-off is at 7.30pm on Monday, February 13, and entry is £5 on the gate.

Mr Mackelden said: “My mum was a fighter and I'll carry on raising money to make her proud. If you're looking down and reading this mum I love you and you'll never be forgotten, forever and always."

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