'We've lost our hero': Heartache as father who raised £500k for his little girl dies

Tom Attwater, who raised £500,000 to ensure his beloved little girl Kelli would receive medical care, died at his home in Pattingham, near Wolverhampton, yesterday.

The 32-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago.

But despite his own battle, he vowed to spend what time he had left raising funds for treatment for six-year-old Kelli, who was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer aged just three months and again aged three.

His family paid tribute to him, with widow Joely, 28, describing Tom as her 'hero'. Tom was also father to Fletcher, who is nearly five months old.

She said: "His drive to help Kelli astounded all who knew him. Despite his extreme fatigue and daily seizures, he got out of bed every day to help fundraise."

"This is a very tough time for Kelli. We explained that daddy's 'naughty lump' in his head couldn't be cured and that one day he would go to heaven while she was still a child. That's why it meant so much to Tom to walk Kelli down the aisle at our wedding because he knew he wouldn't be there when she is a bride, and Kelli knew this. She will cherish that moment forever.

"When Tom was in hospital and we found out that the time was getting close I gently explained to Kelli that daddy would have to leave us soon. It was the most difficult moment of my life. Kelli is a daddy's girl and she will struggle to adjust without her wonderful, loving father.

Businessman Tom, a former pupil of Bridgnorth Endowed School, received the bleak news of a cancerous mass in his brain, called an astrocytoma, in September 2012.

Scans showed he had a tumour covering 11 per cent of his brain. Tom said at the time: "I remember asking doctors if I had days, weeks, months or years to live and feeling I was trapped in a film.

"When I gradually absorbed the news that I was 29 and facing the inevitable, I felt shock, then anger, then disappointment that I hadn't yet given Kelli a little brother or sister."

But his overwhelming feeling was an urge to make the most of every day he had left with his family.

First on Tom's bucket list was raising the £500,000 for Kelli's Appeal.

He said then: "I can't just lie in bed feeling sorry for myself when there is so much more to be done to save Kelli. My own health is not my main concern because I have no chances left and Kelli does."

Tom's health deteriorated just before son Fletcher was born on May 22 but he was able to support Joely through her 11-hour labour.

Donations flooded in for Tom's charity fund when he shared his moving letter of life advice for Kelli in February last year.

In the letter to Kelli, he said: "There is no point in asking you not to be sad when I go. I know you will be princess. And I wish I could be there to wrap my arms around you and snuggle you until you smile again."

He wrote: "A lot of life is simply luck and mine is running out.

"Most dads and daughters have decades to chat around the kitchen table, their hands warmed by mugs of coffee, as the dad dishes out advice and their girls no doubt roll their eyes. We don't have that time. I won't be able to drop you off on your first day at school, pick you up after your first date, hold you when your heart hurts or cheer when you graduate."

His parents Sue and Tony Attwater spoke of their pride in Tom.

"He worked hard and played hard but family always came first," said Mrs Attwater.

"He always told Kelli never to give up on anything but unfortunately this was one fight he could never win."

His father added: "We are so proud that despite his illness he managed to raise all that money for the Kelli appeal.

"We will miss him so much. His personality filled the room."

Joely has set up a memorial fund in Tom's name for Brain Tumour Research. It can be found at www.justgiving.com/tomattwatermemorialfund