Terminally ill 81-year-old graduates from university

Ann Gabb collected her degree at Symphony Hall in Birmingham as the crowd watching on "erupted" with cheers

An 81-year-old terminally ill woman, whose husband and daughter both died during her studies, has graduated from university.

Ann Gabb, from Hereford, was awarded a bachelor's degree in arts and humanities from the Open University and now wants her achievement to inspire others.

"I'm hoping that other people will realise you can do it at any age. You don't have to be a 20-year-old," she said.

Ms Gabb was diagnosed with blood cancer and lost her husband, Trevor Gabb, midway through her studies before losing her daughter, Wendy Jones, to a long illness just before finishing her course.

Ms Gabb's son, Andrew Gabb, told BBC Hereford & Worcester of his pride in his mother's achievement.

He said: "I'm extremely proud. My mum is humble, and she doesn't like the attention, but I said to her, 'There's no way she's going to escape this one.'"

Asked about the moment he saw his mother collect her degree in October, he said: "It was incredible; I've never seen anything like it. It was at Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and everybody was just so kind.

"There were over 2,000 people; the place was packed. As they announced mum's name, the place just erupted."

Mr Gabb says he is "extremely proud" of his mother

Ms Gabb described her own illness as "a bit unfortunate" but admitted there was no cure, so she is just "going along" with her treatment.

And describing her daughter, Ms Jones, the 81-year-old said: "She was amazing. She was ill for a very long time. We miss her."

Mr Gabb added: "We lost my sister earlier this year after a long illness, and that has changed our lives forever.

"She had the most incredible sense of humour."

Asked what she hoped would come from her achievement, Ms Gabb said: "I'm a bit shy about all this publicity, but I'm hoping some other people, maybe only one or two, might take notice and try to do something themselves."