A massive day of celebration is planned in memory of a popular mother and hairdresser who lost her battle against cancer months before her milestone 40th birthday.

Mother-of-two Justine Silvester was 37 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died two years later last April.

But her family and friends are determined she will not be forgotten and have organised a fundraising car wash and party to mark what would have been Ms Silvester’s 40th birthday.

They hope to raise hundreds for bereavement charity Seesaw, which has been supporting Ms Silvester’s children Maisie, 10, and Ruby, six, and pay for a special day out for the girls as a gift from their mother.

Ms Silvester’s mother Julie, of Eden Way, Bicester, who cares for the girls with her husband Ian, said the family were all still struggling to come to terms with it. She said: “Justine found a lump in the August and I told her to go to the doctor, who wasn’t worried, but she went back.

“When she was diagnosed it came as a shock. We didn’t for one minute think it was cancer.

“She was a private person but her friends knew she had cancer. She put on a brave face and was always smiling.”

Mrs Silvester said her granddaughters received “fantastic” support from Oxfordshire-based Seesaw, which helped them realise they were not alone in losing a parent.

Former Bicester Community College pupil Ms Silvester trained in salons in Oxford and at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College. She later worked in Essex for several years before returning to Bicester in salons Anne Veck and Andre and Achille, both in Bicester.

Ms Silvester’s schoolfriends and family, calling themselves ‘Team Silvester’ have raised about £4,000 for cancer charities and Sobell House, where Ms Silvester died.

Amanda Cassidy, of Team Silvester, said: “We still miss her desperately.” Another, Jill White, added: “It’s a celebration of Justine’s life and achievements.”

A car wash, helped by Ms Silvester’s daughters Maisie and Ruby, kicks off a day of fund raising at Bicester Rugby Club, Oxford, on Saturday, between 10am and noon, followed by a disco and raffle from 7.30pm.