CHERYL Anderson never had the chance to hold her newborn baby daughter. For Cheryl had battled against cancer for much of her pregnancy - and the disease claimed her life just hours after she gave birth.

Now her husband, Leigh, is left to bring up baby Taylor and elder daughter, Georgia, four, alone.

"When she died it was like someone had ripped a part out of me," said Leigh, of Pembroke Grove, Newport.

"Now everything is empty - except for the two girls. They are the only thing keeping me going at the moment."

The couple found out in May that Cheryl, 32, was suffering from cancer. She underwent a seven-hour operation to remove a tumour from her neck and later had 30 days of radiotherapy.

"We thought we had actually got over the worst," said Leigh. "She had had the operation and had the radiotherapy and we had the preliminary results back, which seemed good."

But on August 21, a scan showed up problems with Cheryl's liver, and test results which had come back showed the neck tumour had been a melanoma, a form of skin cancer.

Baby Taylor, who was not due until November 7, was delivered by Caesarean section at 11.50am on August 23 at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, weighing less than 3lb, and taken to the special baby care unit.

During the operation, doctors discovered the cancer had spread to Cheryl's liver, spleen and spine.

"There was nothing else they could do," said Leigh.

Cheryl died at 8.45pm after seeing a photograph of Taylor.

Leigh said: "Half an hour after she died, I went up to see the baby and they said, 'We are just getting the baby ready to come down'. I had to tell them Cheryl had died."

Hundreds attended her funeral last week at St Andrew's Church, Liswerry.

Taylor is expected to stay in hospital until October or November, and Leigh said she was doing well.

On Tuesday, her big sister, Georgia, started Lliswerry Infants School.

"She loves school," said Leigh. "Georgia reminds me of her mother. She has the same temperament."

* In the picture: Leigh Anderson cuddles his daughter Taylor.