But they have transformed their heartbreaking loss into a gesture of hope as Hannah's Holiday Home gets set to receive its first visitors.

Set up in tribute to brave Hannah, the holiday home in Oakdene Forest Park in the New Forest will open on February 9, providing free getaway breaks for families whose children have debilitating diseases.

The first to be welcomed are the Kemp family from Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, whose six-year-old daughter Tatum was diagnosed with the rare lung disease interstitial pneumonitis when she was just 18 months old.

Tatum's mum Khadine told The News the family was honoured to be the very first to benefit from Hannah's legacy.

'She's had a very rough ride, but she's a tough little one,' said Khadine of her daughter.

'We're all looking forward to it so much, especially Tatum. She loves swimming, and she keeps asking "when are we going, when are we going?" She can't wait. This is going to help so many people, and we're just honoured to be the first ones there.'

The opening is the climax of much hard work by the charity's 10-member committee, which has already raised thousands of pounds, including a £10,000 donation from the Piam Brown Ward at Southampton General Hospital where Hannah was treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The charity aims to repay the £45,000 loan taken to purchase the holiday home and are keen to secure long-term funding for the project.

Hannah's mother Pam, 38, of Nightjar Close, Horndean, said the project would allow people to forget the illness and enjoy themselves, as well as giving bereaved families the time and space to begin to come to terms with their loss,' she said.

'When Hannah died we went away for a week ourselves, just to spend some quality time together, to start grieving. It's something which really helped us at the time, and we'd like to provide it for other families too.'

adam.kula@thenews.co.uk