A BROTHER and sister have honoured their grandmother who died from cancer before they were born.

Ella, left, and Tom Curtis, aged four and two, who live in Lindfield, never met grandma Catherine Tibbott, who died of pancreatic cancer six years ago.

But Catherine lived long enough to feel her granddaughter kick in daughter Helen Curtis’s womb.

“Thanks to the treatment she had, she was able to survive for six months, long enough to know I was expecting a girl and that she would be called Ella Catherine,” said Helen, 36.

“She got to see scans of Ella and feel her kick and that meant the world to her.”

Now Ella and Tom are taking on household chores and donating their hard-earned pocket money to Cancer Research UK in memory of the grandma they never met.

The Argus: Ella has never met her grandmother Catherine TibbottElla has never met her grandmother Catherine Tibbott

And they are calling on children across Sussex to help out at home in aid of the charity.

Cancer Research UK spokeswoman Lynn Daly said she was humbled at the siblings’ efforts.

“While many of us may feel our lives have been put on hold, cancer hasn’t stopped,” she said.

“About 51,400 people are diagnosed with the disease every year in the South East, so we can’t afford to stand still

“Our supporters are completely redefining the meaning of ‘charity begins at home’. We’ve been humbled by how they are determined to carry on.”