A boys football team is raising awareness of a breast cancer charity after the mum of two players was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Katharine Tremain, of Diamond Road in Whitstable, was given the devastating news she was suffering with stage four breast cancer at the end of 2016.

The 44-year-old, who works as a receptionist at Simon Langton Girls’ School, said she went to the doctor after noticing a change in the shape of her breasts.

She said: “They originally said it’s probably nothing, and then they did a mammogram and that’s when they said ‘we think it’s something not normal’.

“I had a biopsy and they found it was cancer. They found it had spread to my lymph nodes.

“Then I had lots of different scans. Within a few weeks, I found out I’ve got it in my bones.”

Katharine was quickly given intensive treatment.

“I had six months of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, then 20 sessions of radiotherapy,” she explained. “Now, every four weeks, I have an injection to strengthen my bones and blood tests and scans.

“Right now, I’m stable. As we say, as long as it’s stable, that’s all we can hope for.”

Throughout her illness, Katharine and her family have been supported by charity Breast Cancer Care.

“They’ve given us so much advice,” she said. “I’ve used their website an awful lot - they’ve got a massive forum where you can talk to other people. There are medical people there as well that answer at all times.

“It’s been so helpful, because you really don’t know what to expect until it happens to you.”

Now, the Tremain family is raising awareness of the charity that has helped them navigate their way through Katharine’s diagnosis and treatment.

Her husband Garry coaches youth football at Tankerton FC - where sons Jack, 13, and nine-year-old James - known as Jimbo - play regularly.

Seeing his youngest son’s under 9s team did not have a kit, and instead played in a mixture of old strips, he jumped at the opportunity to raise awareness of Breast Cancer Care.

“I put a message on Facebook asking if a local business would buy them a new kit, but with a twist,” he said. “That twist was to buy the kit for the team but not actually advertise their own business, and instead help awareness of Breast Cancer Care by putting the charity’s logo on the shirts.”

Two local businesses - Marble Financial Planning and Tednmore Ltd - quickly stepped forward to buy the new kit.

“To find two such generous people offering effectively to be silent sponsors is such a rare thing,” said Garry. “And for a local boys football team to have a kit raising awareness of a charity that is probably more associated with women instead of a business is possibly unheard of.”

Katharine thanked the business, as well as Tankerton FC for supporting her sons.

“The club has given them exercise and normality, during a time when we weren’t at all normal - when I was ill and wasn’t at work,” she said. “It gave them support - somewhere they could go meet their friends and enjoy their football, as though nothing was different.”

Visit the charity’s website at www.breastcancercare.org.uk.