RUTH Marlee started her own cancer treatment the very day her lifelong friend Judy Dinning lost her battle with the disease, five years ago this month.

Now Ruth is preparing to set off on a sponsored bike ride in memory of the renowned Hexhamshire singer who wowed the folk world with her beautiful voice.

Judy had travelled the world, both as a solo artist and in bands, supporting the likes of Pentangle, The Strawbs, Aly Bain and - in one of her proudest moments - Joan Baez at Edmonton Folk Festival in front of 20,000 fans.

During the last decade of her life, she founded and played in folk band Real Time with her partner Kenny Speirs. Since her death, he has mounted a fund-raising concert every September in aid of Tynedale Hospice at Home and Macmillan Nurses.

To date, he has raised more than £23,000, a figure set to rise with the next concert in the Borders town of Denholm at the end of this month.

Ruth will be there, but only after she and her ever-supportive husband Dave have cycled the 70 miles from their home in Hexhamshire.

“Judy maintained her determination to use her beautiful voice to the end and her inspiration lives on,” said Ruth. “A positive attitude won’t cure cancer, but it helps those who do the caring and the research!

“They say one in three people are touched by cancer in some respect, so I’m doing the ride in aid of Cancer Research.”

Thankfully in remission herself from the lymphoma she was diagnosed with in 2013, Ruth will nonetheless ride an ebike to compensate for the physical weaknesses, including a damaged hip, she’s been left with.

She has already raised £380 towards the £500 target she’s set on her Just Giving page.