THE family of Theresa Bevis, who died last month at the age of 50, are asking for help to say their final goodbyes.

Theresa died on the morning of Friday, January 22, very suddenly at her home in Keeble Road, Northbourne.

Her son Ryan, 27, came downstairs on the morning to find his mother struggling to breathe.

"She suffered with severe asthma and usually when she has an episode we call an ambulance and she goes in to hospital," said Ryan, who does agency work for Bournemouth council.

But sadly on this occasion Theresa suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance and by the time Ryan reached the hospital himself she was dead.

Ryan and his younger siblings Jack McDonald, 18, and Chloe Bevis, 15, are now left trying to find £3,000 to cover Theresa's funeral - which is taking place at Bournemouth Crematorium this afternoon.

So far Ryan's nan has paid a £600 deposit to cover the crematorium fees and the minister but he has to pay that money back and find a way to pay off the remaining sum and the funeral director fees.

"Having her die so suddenly is extremely hard but it also means we are struggling to pay for the funeral," he said.

"My brother and sister are still in school so don't earn a wage and I haven't worked for a couple of weeks as I've been at home helping to sort everything out.

"It now means we're in a bit of a tight financial situation. The £3,000 covers the basic crematorium and funeral director fees as well as the coffin and all the necessities but that's it.

"We're having the wake at the house and a couple of my friends have offered to make some food for the guests.

"We just want to give mum a nice send off."

To help Ryan and the family out some friends have set up a donations page and the family are also looking into ways of accessing a funeral grant from the government.

"My mum had suffered for many years due to a large number of difficult and complex illnesses," explained Ryan, who is now the primary carer for his younger siblings.

"It was just one thing after another - there was her asthma which meant she couldn't walk very far without getting out of breath.

"Then she broke her foot and was bed-bound for a while which lead to depression.

"And then a few months ago she was diagnosed with a mild form of leukaemia.

"It was really hard for her and I guess now she is finally at peace with her twin sister Samantha who died 13 years ago and who she missed dearly."

Samantha suffered with a heart defect and died at the age of 36. After her death Theresa adopted her two young children Jack and Chloe.

"My mum was a person who could always make you smile and laugh even on your darkest day," added Ryan.

"Her love for myself, Jack and Chloe was unquestionable and her death has left us with a big void but we know she'll always be watching down on us."

To donate go to www.gofundme.com/az2um3ks.