A TOUGH daughter is on her way to completing three gruelling challenges in memory of an “incredible mum with a wicked sense of humour”.

Fresh off the back of a successful London Marathon effort and a three day adventure through the blazing heat of the Sahara desert, Johanna Read is getting ready for her next event.

She decided to take on three challenges, organised by the fundraising team at St Helena Hospice, in memory of her beloved mother.

“Fiery” Jo Read died last March at the age of 73 following a long-fought battle with cancer.

She had suffered with Multiple Myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood which can leave suffers with a dull ache in their bones, tiredness, weakness and shortness of breath.

She spent three years fighting against the disease before it claimed her life.

But Johanna, from Colchester, is left with the memory of the warmth and humanity of staff at the hospice, where her mother spent several weeks.

“My mum stayed at the hospice before she died and they were just amazing, the three years she was ill they were fantastic,” she said.

“She went in for four weeks pain management, returned home and went in for two weeks in March 2017.

“The hospice isn’t just there for the patients, it is there for the family too.

“My mum and I were dealing with the diagnosis in different ways and while it is really difficult for patients, it is horrific for the family.

“I was the only family my mum had left, my dad died when I was 25 and I was the only carer for my mum.”

“You just need to be able to talk through what’s happening.”

Whenever Johanna was struggling with the care of her mother, or even just needed somewhere to vent, she knew the hospice was just a phone call away.

“Sometimes you’re really angry, but feel like you can’t be.

“The hospice provide a place to turn, if I was angry or upset, or didn’t understand something, I could go there and it was either a place to get an explanation or simply somewhere to vent.”

Johanna said her mother was a remarkable woman.

“She was incredible, she has an absolutely wicked sense of humour – we used to call her the Wicked Witch of the West – she even used to sign her Christmas cards with that name,” she said.

“She also had a sharp temper, she was quite fiery.

“She used to do a lot of work for Colchester Operatics.

“She started doing that after my dad died as it gave her focus.”

Johanna trekked across the Sahara with 14 fellow fundraisers in April.

Accompanied by expert guides and caravans, the group walked across the Moroccan desert for three days, tackling boulder-strewn plains, rocks, river beds and sand dunes.

Now hardy Johanna is anticipating her toughest challenge yet, a 250 mile coast-to-coast bicycle ride from Clacton to Portishead, in Somerset.

“Then I saw the last challenge and straight away knew it would be the toughest,” she said.

“I haven’t ridden a bike properly since I was a child.

“I have a few months now that the marathon has finished to be getting back on the bike as much as possible and building up the miles.”

Johanna works as a teacher and is chairwoman of Colchester Ladies Circle, which regularly raises hundreds of pounds for the hospice.

Johanna is hoping to reach the £5,000 mark before her last challenge in September.

To donate, visit timelesstributefunds and search for Jo Read.