THE family of a much-loved Worcestershire paramedic have reached an important milestone in their efforts to fund her cancer treatment.

Christine Gill is currently suffering from stage four oesophageal cancer and her family is trying to raise the vital funds needed for her treatment, which cannot be provided by the NHS.

We reported back in April how Mrs Gill needed £20,000 to fund her treatment. Now, the total raised by the family has topped £23,000.

This means her potentially life-saving treatment can go ahead.

On the family's fundraising page, it said how determined the 53 year-old is to beat cancer, saying: "Christine is married to her best friend and soul mate Tony, she has Ashley and Bethany her children and her grandchildren Charlie and Nancy who play a massive part of her life.

"She also supports her elderly mum. Along with this she also loves her career in the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

"Chris is keen to beat this and return to her duties on the front line."

Although the fundraising page has broken its target, Mrs Gill's family is leaving it up and running for anyone else who wishes to donate.

They have also set up a Facebook page which provides updates on the fight against cancer, with a live hair cut for charity scheduled to take place on the page on Monday, May 17.

Originally joining the ambulance service in 1984 as a control room assistant, Mrs Gill rose through the ranks and became an officer overseeing the running of the control room.

In 1997 she changed careers, training as an ambulance technician for two years before becoming a paramedic in 1999.

Since then, she has mentored hundreds of staff and trainees in a number of Midlands universities.

Her career has also seen her become head of clinical practice for women and children in the service, which saw her sent to Kolkata in India to work in the slums with chilren and their families.

In 2013 she returned to being a frontline paramedic and appeared on both BBC and Channel 4 programmes.

The family added: “After a lifetime of helping people, and only having retired for three years, Christine needs our help.

“She is such a selfless, considerate, loving caring and strong person inside and out.”