A young man who lost his mum to cancer in 2017 has launched a foundation in her name to help others who are in the same boat he once was.

Tom Mackelden, 24, from Coxheath, launched the Tania Mackelden Foundation on last Saturday, with a Great Gatsby themed event at The Weald of Kent.

Tom found out the heartbreaking news his mum Tania Mackelden had cancer at just 15, and it was on New Year's Eve 2016 the family found out she only had months to live.

He is now hoping to raise money and help families who are in a similar situation to what he faced for four years.

He raised £2,500 at the event on Saturday which saw more than 100 people turn up.

"It was one of the most emotional but amazing nights of my life," Tom said.

"I felt so nervous going into it, speaking in front of hundreds of people, but I was really nervous as it was mum's face and name plastered everywhere.

"We chose The Great Gatsby as we thought it would be easy one to decorate with the sparkles, gold colours and what not, but also as Gatsby is about a massive part and lots of fun, which is exactly what my mum was like.

"She loved a drink, was always on the shot, and was a fun party girl who loved the glitz and glamour."

Tom and his family's world was turned upside down again four years after Tania's death after it was revealed she was one of murderer and necrophiliac David Fuller's mortuary sex abuse victims.

Despite this, Tom hopes the foundation will help turn the negative memories of Fuller's violation into something more positive.

He said: "The foundation has helped make the outlook on the whole thing different.

"I know what he's done, but it spurred me on to do this which is bigger and better than anything he's done.

"It's made me more positive and it outshines the horrors of what he done."

Tom, who has raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK in the past, is hoping to raise some more money for the foundation with a celebrity football match in the summer.