TWO women who raised almost £12,000 to help their best friend after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness have been nominated for a Community Pride Award.

When paramedic Sally Waudby, 50, of Forest Grove, was left unable to communicate due to motor neurone disease, her friends and colleagues Julie Staveley and Angie Holland organised an event to raise £11,700 for a computer which reads eye movements to help her communicate.

The equipment enabled Sally – who was unable to speak or text – to communicate with her husband Mick, their two children Adam and Beth, and her friends. She was also able to send texts or emails.

Sally died in March, but the life-changing equipment has now been passed on via York Against Motor Neurone Disease to help other people with MND.

At Sally’s suggestion just before she died, Helen Sellers nominated the pair in the category of Charity Fundraiser Of The Year.

She said: “I can honestly say I have never been to an event so well organised by two people with so many others on board and the staggering fact of it all is that they raised the full amount to purchase the computer for Sally.

“I think to raise almost £12,000 through one event is commendable and to be able to communicate with Sally again was pure joy. The ambulance service as a whole do an incredible job and this fund raising event showed them all at their very, very best. I very much hope they will be considered for this award, they certainly deserve it.”

The event, which saw ambulance staff participating in a Full Monty-style striptease and burlesque dancing, was attended by 300 people – which the friends say was testament to Sally’s popularity.

As well as an auction and raffle, people bought Speak For Sally wristbands and donated online.

The event was recorded on DVD and shown to Sally, who had been too ill to attend the event, but was moved to see the efforts her friends had gone to.

Julie, 54, and Angie, 51, said they were both “honoured” to have been friends with Sally – who they described as a special, unique, loyal and funny woman. Julie said she had been very moved to suddenly start receiving texts from Mrs Waudby after she received the equipment.

She said: “It was amazing, she could speak to us. She could say what she wanted and how she felt – until then we had no idea what she thought.”

“We didn’t do this for any publicity other than the publicity we needed to raise the money. The support we got was unbelievable.

“To be nominated is humbling when you see the other nominations. They have raised far more funds than us. We did what we had to do.”

The Community Pride Awards, which will have a York 800 theme this year, are sponsored by Benenden Healthcare and run in partnership with City of York Council.