CANCER hospital bosses have paid tribute to a young mum-of-two who gave hope to thousands in her work.

Jennifer Dunne was killed in a motorway car crash with a lorry - four weeks after giving birth to her second child.

Jennifer was in the family car, driven by husband Raymond, 33, with their two-year-old son James and baby Hannah.

They were on their way home from a short holiday in Majorca.

The holiday had been arranged to help Jennifer, 31, of Broadwell Drive, Pennington - a radiographer at Manchester's internationally renowned Christie Hospital - recover following Hannah's birth.

Hannah, who was in a baby seat, escaped unhurt, but James suffered mild bruising from his seatbelt following the crash.

Raymond also escaped with only slight injuries. The lorry driver was unhurt.

Jennifer's distraught mum, Anna Hilton, said: "We still can't believe this has happened.

"Her dad, Tony, and the whole family are totally shattered by this accident. We still don't know what happened properly.

"We received a call telling us there had been an accident and that we should travel to the Infirmary in Stoke. We thank God that the children were unhurt."

Jennifer, a former pupil of Sacred Heart RC School in Leigh and Mount St Joseph School in Bolton, married Raymond seven years ago at St Joseph's RC Church, Leigh.

Her sister Karen added: "Jennifer was such a popular person and liked by everyone who knew her.

"She had worked at Christie's since she was 19 and so hundreds of people must have met her.

"She was a member of Leigh Swimming Club and also swam for Wigan Wasps."

Christine Soutter, superintendent radiograopher in the x-ray therapy department at Christie's, praised Jennifer's work with cancer patients.

"She helped treat patients with cancer,"she said.

"She was very kind to her patients.

"She was very popular and enjoyed her work at the hospital.

"Our sympathy goes out to Raymond, James and Hannah and the rest of her family."

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