AN INSPIRATIONAL health visitor from York who died suddenly last year has posthumously won a prestigious award for the valuable support she provided to women and families.

Yvonne Hill, who lived near Poppleton Road, was as a health visitor for about 15 years before she died in April 2016 aged 53, after a brain haemorrhage.

Yvonne's daughter Jemma Sullivan and husband Jamie Hill collected her Tommy’s Healthcare Hero Award, which is given to a midwife or other medical professional who has provided exceptional physical or emotional support to parents in difficult times.

Mother-of-one and grandmother-of-one Yvonne was nominated by Rebecca Hall, also from York, who joined Jemma and Jamie in collecting the award on Yvonne's behalf.

Rebecca said: "I’ve had multiple miscarriages which led to difficult pregnancies and postnatal depression and anxiety.

"Yvonne would visit me at very short notice if I was finding things too hard. She contacted consultants and doctors who could help and was my biggest advocate and I think it's thanks to her I was never an inpatient. My daughter genuinely adored her and my son would light up when she came by.”

She added: "After Yvonne died, I had to only read the tributes left for her to realise that I was not unique in the care and attention she showed me.

"She helped so many families in a way which was sometimes life changing. She helped pregnant women and mothers escape abuse, helped women who found themselves suddenly in poverty to access food banks and emergency funds. She offered consistent and valuable support to women who had mental health difficulties."

Jemma said: "My mum loved her job and to her it wasn't just a job. She loved helping people and being a support and she was just so good at it and yet she never really saw that she was going above and beyond, it was just what she loved doing.

"Mum would be so shocked to think that someone thought so much of her and would be so honoured to have just been nominated for a Tommy’s Award, let alone win. Family was everything to my mum, not just her own but other families too."

Yvonne worked from The Avenues Children Centre in Tang Hall. She was a nurse before she became a health visitor.

The annual Tommy’s Awards recognise heroes of families who have have been touched by pregnancy complications, or the loss of a baby.

This year's winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Landmark Hotel in London.