Strong Soham mum Alison Fitt has been crowned Ely Hero 2019 after she turned “pain into positivity” by producing a charity calendar following the death of her son.

Ely Standard: The Strong Soham Mums, who have all suffered the loss of a child, have raised £26,410 by posing nude for a charity calendar. Picture: SUBMITTEDThe Strong Soham Mums, who have all suffered the loss of a child, have raised £26,410 by posing nude for a charity calendar. Picture: SUBMITTED (Image: Archant)

The inspirational 47-year-old lost her 15-year-old son Charlie from a rare immune condition, five months after receiving a bone marrow transplant, in 2017.

And this week - on what would have been Charlie's 18th birthday - Alison was named our Ely Hero for the coming year.

Alison, along with other women who had endured the tragedy of a death of a child, posed semi-naked for the calendar in the style of the award-winning Calendar Girls film.

More than £26,000 was raised for the Road Victims Trust (RVT), which provides support to relatives of those killed on the roads, and the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust.

Speaking to the Ely Standard at the awards on Monday night (July 1) Alison said the award was for all the mums who had supported each other in recent years.

"I am overwhelmed, this so special," she smiled.

"They [the mums] don't even know that I am here tonight because I really didn't want to blow my own trumpet.

"I am sure they will be just as shocked as I am when I put it on Facebook.

"We had such a good time creating the calendar and we were all there to support each other.

"Losing a child gives you a different perspective on life.

"My son would have been 18 this week."

Alison was welcomed to the stage to receive her gong to the backdrop of falling confetti and Mariah Carey's song Hero.

She was joined by fellow finalists Clare Clay and Mark Cornell, along with sponsors Metro Rod Cambridge.

People who had nominated Alison described her as "putting on a smile and putting others first, when most would fall apart, Alison thought of others".

"She is a remarkable inspiration finding the courage to those in a similar position."

Among other mothers who featured in the calendar was Claire Danks, whose 22-year-old daughter Lauren, was killed by a drink-driver and Nicola Wells, whose daughter Holly was 10-years-old when she was murdered in August 2002 sparking worldwide media coverage.