A GRIEVING widower who set up a fundraising webpage for relatives to leave messages and charity donations following his wife's death has raised £7,500 for Marie Curie.

Ali Azfar created the Justgiving web page so people could share their memories of Eleanor Azfar.

He hoped people would use the website rather than sending flowers and cards, meaning the couple's children, Beattie, 17, Theo, 15 and Freddie, 11, would always have somewhere to read about their much-loved mother.

Eleanor spent her final five days in the charity's Bradford hospice and Mr Azfar was determined to repay the debt, intending to raise around £4,500. Instead, Mr Ali has raised £7,496 - enough to pay for 375 hours of care at the Maudsley Street facility.

"I had a huge, huge feeling that I had let her go to be cared for at the hospice and I had to doing something.

"At the hospice there was a sign that said how much it costs to look after a patient a day. I was determined to pay my way and raised between £4,500 and £5,000. We set that page up pretty much straight away," said Mr Azfar of Moorhead Terrace, Moorhead, Shipley.

As soon as people heard about the death, they started giving money.

"The very first donations were on that day," he said.

"I didn't expect people to donate, but I wanted people to write their story of Eleanor and people to have someone to go when they thought about her and see her face."

As well as spending her final days at the hospice, Eleanor benefitted from therapy sessions there and Mr Azfar used its counselling services following her death.

He said he was worried about his wife going into a hospice, but was reassured at the level of care and professionalism when he visited.

Eleanor, a teacher at Bradford Girls Grammar School, became ill with a brain tumour on visit to the family's seaside getaway in Filey in 2011.

During her illness the 44-year-old, who died in July last year, made plans for after her death, including her funeral.

"At first she wanted a huge funeral with hundreds of people, but I had to explain that I really didn't feel I could manage that - I would be struggling enough," Mr Azfar, 48, said.

Instead, it was agreed to have a small funeral, followed by a larger memorial event later.

Mr Azfar, who runs a dental practice on Duckworth Lane, said a fitting event seemed to be a quiz night at Bradford Grammar School, which his sons attend, as Eleanor had really enjoyed a similar event.

"Everybody packed in and it raised £3,000 on the night," Mr Azfar said.

"She was very popular with people who knew her. She was such a kind and gentle person. There wasn't anyone with anything bad to say about her."

Community Fundraiser at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford Jen Aspinall said: “We are so grateful to Ali for raising a phenomenal amount of money for the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford.

"It has been a pleasure to meet Ali and his family, and support them with their fundraising in memory of Eleanor. This extremely generous donation will be used to continue to care for people living with a terminal illness and support their families in the local community."