The mother of an inspirational young woman who died at the age of just 23 fought back tears as she shared the story of her ‘kind, brave and unique’ daughter.

Laura Nuttall, from Barrowford, died last May from an aggressive form of brain cancer glioblastoma.

Her mum, Nicola, has written a book The Stars Will Still Be There, described as a heartbreaking but life-affirming memoir.

She appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Morning Live today to share their story with listeners.

Describing her daughter, Nicola said: “She was very unusual as a young child. The first day I took her to school, I went to collect her and I said, ‘How was it?’ She said, ‘It was okay but we didn’t do any French!’

“So that summed her up really, she was massively ambitious and she was constantly trying to learn things just for their own sake.

“She was teaching herself Persian just before she died.

“She always had a plan. She was doing Taekwondo and had a black belt when she was 14.

“She never did the things other people expected her to do.”

Nicola revealed how Laura had ambitions to be a spy and work for MI5 so never had any social media, until after her diagnosis.

Then the family threw themselves into raising awareness of the symptoms of brain tumours and money for much-needed research.

Nicola was just 18 and in her sixth week of university, fit and healthy, having run her first marathon months before.

She had been suffering a few headaches before an eye test found swelling behind her eye, then devastation struck when she was rushed to casualty and was diagnosed with two brain tumours.

Shortly after the diagnosis, Laura decided to live the rest of her life to the full and embark on an extraordinary bucket list.

This included meeting Michelle Obama and Malala Yousafzai, piloting a Royal Navy ship, sky diving, going on safari in South Africa, driving monster trucks, flying a helicopter, graduating from university and having Peter Kay perform charity stand-up gigs in her honour.

Lancashire Telegraph: Laura Nuttall (left) with her mum Nicola and dad Mark arrive at the O2 Apollo in Manchester ahead of comedian Peter Kay's charity show to raise money for Laura Nuttall, 20, who has an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.The family at the Peter Kay gig

The Stars Will Still Be There is Nicola’s account of helping her daughter make the most of her remaining time, while dealing with her own pain along with that of younger daughter Gracie and husband, Mark.

READ MORE: Barrowford road renamed 'Laura Nuttall Way' in her honour

An emotional Nicola said: “Laura was so brave and so kind, I just wanted to share it with the world.

“This could happen to any family. We’re a very ordinary family living an ordinary life and I wanted to share what can happen when something extraordinary happens.

“It doesn’t need to be a cancer diagnosis but things like this put so much pressure on every member of the family.

“And the book’s not just about Laura but all of us and how we cope, and how we don’t cope all the time.

“She taught me a lot about living for the moment.”

The Stars Will Still Be There is out now.