ICONIC Colchester landmarks are set to be bathed in pink and yellow in memory of a brave Colchester mum. 

Mum-of-two Gemma Edgar died of a glioblastoma brain tumour, aged just 33.

Andy and Barb Relf, who are the parents of the late Gemma, a paediatric nurse at Colchester Hospital who sadly died in 2018, were approached by the Brain Tumour Research charity for help identifying Colchester’s iconic buildings ahead of Wear a Hat Day on Friday.

It will see Colchester Castle and the Town Hall lit up in pink and yellow to mark the occasion, which falls within Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

Gazette: Lit up - Colchester Town Hall and Colchester Castle will be illuminated in pink and yellowLit up - Colchester Town Hall and Colchester Castle will be illuminated in pink and yellow

Mr and Mrs Relf said: “We are immensely grateful to our mayor Tim Young for agreeing to light up our city’s iconic buildings in support and in memory of those in [Colchester] who are battling or have been lost to brain tumours.”

Gemma, who was a keen runner, died four years after her diagnosis.

This year’s event comes after Brain Tumour Research announced a £2.5 million funding agreement to help find a cure for the deadliest of all childhood cancers.

Gazette: Remembered - Gemma Edgar died aged 33 after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumourRemembered - Gemma Edgar died aged 33 after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumour (Image: Archant)

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Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re very excited at the response to ‘Light Up the UK for brain tumours’ and are very grateful to the mayor and Colchester Council for their support.

“We are looking forward to Wear a Hat Day on Friday – the UK’s premier brain tumour awareness event when people at work, school or at home will don a hat, make a donation and share a selfie on socials.

“After pancreatic cancer, brain tumours are the least survivable form of cancer. Just 12 per cent of brain tumour patients survive for more than five years, compared with an average of 50 per cent across all cancers.”

The theme of this year’s Wear a Hat Day is to look super for science.

People are invited to pop a hat on and make a donation at www.braintumourresearch.org/donate/WAHD23, sharing selfies on social media using the hashtag #WearAHatDay.