A PROUD daughter has spoken of her late mother’s courage in giving her body for medical training and taking part in a major TV documentary on the subject.

Former East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust nurse Diana King, 54, died from cancer in October last year having decided her body should be used to train doctors and surgeons.

Her final months and what happened afterwards feature in a two-part Channel Five documentary Body Donors, the first of which aired this week, Mrs King, who lived in Belthorn with 65-year-old husband Wayne, talks of her illness and her decision to donate her body to medical science in the film which also features her 30-year-old daughter Danielle Copley, from Oswaldtwistle.

The film, available on demand 5 and channel5.com, also tells of the case of Mike from North Wales who donated his body too.

The next episode on Channel 5, at 9pm on Tuesday, shows how Mrs King’s body is used to train medics at the Newcastle Surgical Training Centre.

This includes using Accrington-born Mrs King’s body to trial a revolutionary robot hip replacement surgery later used successfully on a living patient known as Geraldine.

Mrs Copley said: “I am so proud of my mother.

“This was another courageous and selfless act by a very brave and selfless woman.

“She was originally diagnosed with breast cancer about 10 years ago but was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and it went into remission.

“It returned and spread in 2013 and she was given six months to live.

“She had been a nurse with the trust for 20 years and wanted to do something with her body to help medical training.

“My mother eventually passed away on October 17 last so we had extra and special times with her.

“She loved animals and I spent time with her at Blackpool Zoo, she and Wayne renewed their vows after 20 years at Gretna Green where they got married and she held a 54th birthday party at The Dog in Belthorn.

“It was hard watching her pass away but we all supported her decision to give her body for medical use.

“It has been a real emotional rollercoaster but we are all so proud of her.

“Watching the documentary on Tuesday was sad but also uplifting.”

Dr Damian Riley, medical director at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We were pleased to be able to support Diana with her wishes in terms of filming the documentary and holding her memorial service in the hospital chapel.

“The film highlights the importance of body donation in training medical students and doctors.”