A MAN whose wife died of cancer has been spurred on to raise money for Kemp Hospice and keep her memory alive.

Tony Williams was "devastated" when Madeline died aged 60 in March 2001 from cancer of the liver.

His wife, a "highly-regarded" former Bewdley tourist information officer, never visited the hospice - partly because the couple thought of it as a place "where you went to die".

But since her death Mr Williams, 62, has raised £2,000 for the £2.2 million building appeal and has also contributed to the hospice's running costs.

He now plans a fountain in the grounds of the new complex as a permanent memorial to his wife and said he has completely changed his opinion of the hospice.

Headded: "I know my wife would have loved Kemp if she'd known about it.

"She died living, she didn't live dying."

Mr Williams is a member of the New Friends of Kemp committee and helped set up the Madeline Williams memorial fund which raised about £2,000 from a prize draw last year.

And his efforts have won him a bottle of champagne from the Shuttle/Times & News and Sainsbury's.

"Since I lost Madeleine I've been thinking of what I can do to help Kemp," said Mr Williams, of Curlew Close, Kidderminster.

"I'm 101 per cent committed to keeping Madeline's memory alive and to backing Kemp.

"I have realised what a happy place it is - it is not a place of doom and gloom. The warmth and love and care of Kemp people is second to none."

Mr Williams added the planned expansion will increase the range of care and allow more people to benefit.

"Relatives will be able to stay the night and stay with people that they love.

"They can't do that at the moment."

He is also a great supporter of Macmillan nurses, who are funded by the hospice, and organised a coffee morning earlier this month which raised £90 for them.