FAMILY and friends today paid tribute to a 'bubbly' Newton Abbot woman who has died from cancer, aged just 29.

Amy Manning died on October 24 at Rowcroft Hospice, two weeks after doctors had diagnosed the disease.

Her family have received about 250 cards and more than 350 people attended Amy's funeral.

She leaves behind her mum Cecilia, dad Ron, sister Karen Ellis and brother Scott.

Today her family described her as a 'very caring person with an infectious laugh' who they would 'miss like mad'.

Karen said: "We did not realise how popular she was. We have been overwhelmed by the response.

"She was bubbly and always the life and soul of the party. She would walk into a room and light it up."

Karen explained: "She had not been in best health for about a year and a half.

"She went into Torbay Hospital about two days after our brother's wedding. She was in there for five weeks.

"Two weeks before Amy died she was diagnosed with gastric cancer and told it was terminal.

"I was expecting my son Samuel at the same time Amy was in the hospital and she got to see him — he's four weeks old now."

Amy was later transferred to Rowcroft Hospice where she died.

A keen gymnast and athletic child, Amy attended Bradley Barton Primary School and Coombeshead College.

She went on to study business at Paignton Community College and attended Plymouth University. She worked as a customer manager for Sainsbury's at The Willows in Torquay and she took on a short-term contract with Teignbridge Council before becoming a secretary for the Whitley Wildlife Trust at Paignton Zoo.

Karen said: "She loved working there and she would take her nephew Owen, who is four years old, to the zoo or to the theatre.

"We realised how serious it was, but we thought she would still come out of hospital, so we sponsored Yoda the giraffe for her. Without a shadow of a doubt they were her favourite animal."

Amy also loved walking and regularly raised money for charities including Rowcroft, and £1,000 for Cystic Fibrosis.

The family also thanked Paignton Zoo for their 'incredible support' regarding Amy's death.