A FUND-RAISER has been set up in memory of a youth worker in Ayr who tragically died from cancer just two weeks after being diagnosed.

Phil Hawthorne, 36, who worked for the Church of Scotland at Newton Wallacetown Church's RoomSixty project, was told on December 15 that he had bowel and liver cancer. 

He passed away at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley a fortnight later.

Phil's wife Ruth, 35, who is also mum to their two-year-old son, is expecting their daughter in March.

Last week, Ruth paid a poignant tribute to her husband of five years.

She said: “Phil was so selfless. He had a special gift of speaking to people, young and old. He would just make you feel like you were so important, which was such a special gift to have.”

Phil's 66-year-old dad Bob, a retired civil servant, said: “Philip had a massive impact on the lives of everyone he met.

“He’d visit young people in hospital, take them on camping holidays or help them with issues like bullying.”

The GoFundMe appeal for Room Sixty was set up in Phil's memory by his close friend Jonathan Aitken and has already soared past its £2,000 target.

Phil, from Barrhead, began working at the initiative in 2014. 

On the GoFundMe page Jonathan wrote: "The loss of a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a friend is a hard thing to take, as is the loss of a role model and a mentor to the many youth in Ayr that Phil committed his time so passionately to.

"He spent his time walking young people through the ups and downs of life.

"No monetary value will be able to replace what Phil gave to these youth. However, Phil himself was actively involved in fund raising for the RoomSixty charity, and it is the wish of loving wife Ruth that Phil's memory be honoured through donations to this cause."

Jonathan, 33, who had known Phil for 20 years, added: “He had no ego. He was a real role model who was only interested in helping and advising young people.”

To make a donation, simply click here.

Phil is also survived by mum Margaret, 65, and siblings Matthew, 35, and Naomi, 33.