A CAMPAIGNING grandmother who was diagnosed with leukaemia and given only two days to live in 2010 has died.

June Ryder, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, fought a "five-and-a-half-year battle" with the disease which returned for the third time last year.

The 57-year-old was told she had between two days and two weeks to live and attributed her initial survival to the haematology ward at University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton.

The staff were described as being like her "extended family" and when threat of its closure loomed in 2014 she stood up in front of television cameras in an effort to save it.

She believed it was thanks to the ward that allowed her to be alive for the birth of her now 18-month-old granddaughter Elise Lowther.

And though she hoped to reach Elise's second birthday, Ms Ryder became ill with a bacterial infection and died peacefully at St Cuthbert's Hospice on January 20.

Paying tribute to her mother, Clair Lowther, 35, of Bishop Auckland, said: "She loved to argue and was a force to be reckoned with even though she was very small at 4ft 11in.

"She was also kind, would help anybody and took in waifs and strays over the years. And she would always make sure her family was okay."

Originally from Spennymoor and one of seven siblings, Ms Ryder worked as a waitress at a number of hotels.

She had three children, Ms Lowther, Philip Lowther, 30, and another son Richard Lowther who died at the age of five as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

After her diagnosis in 2010, Ms Ryder was given stem cell treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and went into remission for around four years.

When the leukaemia returned for a second time and she fought it off once more, Ms Lowther said she had a "new lease of life".

Ms Ryder joined the Great Aycliffe Support Group which she regularly attended with her granddaughter Emma Lowther, who lived with her.

The pair were "very close" and went on holiday to Scarborough every year.

"She liked being with her family," said Emma, 18. "She was a lovable and really nice but could be feisty - she was a good Nana."