A grieving mother-of-two is stranded in The States after her husband collapsed and died in front of her and her daughter.

Vanessa Shuman’s husband Wayne suffered a suspected heart attack on August 27 at their home in Bokoshe, Oklahoma, and now she is facing the prospect of living in poverty while bringing up their two children.

The pair met on a chat room in 2002 before becoming a couple on Valentine’s Day in 2007.

Vanessa told family, including sister Laura Frankham, that she would be moving out to America in May 2011 to start her own family.

Laura, from Larkfield, has now launched an online fundraiser to help her older sister survive a turbulent time.

The 28-year-old said: “Wayne had high blood pressure and not many people realise how serious high blood pressure is.

“He had a shower and was on his bed when he went into some kind of seizure and we think he had a heart attack.

“He was fine one minute going about his day as normal and then all of a sudden he collapsed in front of his five-year-old and Vanessa.”

Vanessa was unable to afford a funeral for Wayne, who she married in August 2011. He had suffered from various health problems and was in a wheelchair after a car accident.

The 46-year-old was cremated and Laura, of Eagle Close, wants to be able to raise money to help pay for food, clothes and essentials.

She said: “She has never had many friends.

"She always thought if she was going to be grieving then Wayne would be the one to support her through it.

"She has got nobody around her. I set up the fundraiser because there is nothing else I can do. I feel so helpless.

“Her plan is to come back to the UK eventually but she has got a lot to sort out.”

Vanessa and her two daughters, newborn Willow and five-year-old Teigan, five, do not have passports and Laura is desperate to help them come to terms with their devastating loss but also help them return to England.

Laura added: “Wayne was absolutely lovely and a really trusting man.

"They never had anything and never needed the materialistic stuff because they had each other.

“We want to be there for her but it is difficult because she is in America and she lives in the middle of nowhere.”

More than £1,000 has been raised for Vanessa and her daughters so far. To donate, click here.