A young Norfolk couple was tragically split by cancer, less than a week after their wedding day.Nathan and Aneliese Bray of Attleborough married last month, but were torn apart when Nathan died of bowel cancer just five days later.

A young Norfolk couple was tragically split by cancer, less than a week after their wedding day.

Nathan and Aneliese Bray of Attleborough married last month, but were torn apart when Nathan died of bowel cancer just five days later.

The pair had met in 2003 at a mutual friend's barbecue.

'He spent all night chatting me up, but I was being a bit frosty. I left the party and realised I couldn't stop thinking about him,' said Aneliese, 23, a trainee police officer.

The pair later moved into Nathan's Attleborough home, and got engaged early last year.

'We were meant to be getting married in September, and then we found out he was ill,' said Aneliese. 'Before Nathan died, the one thing we wanted to do was get married.'

Nathan was told by doctors on July 21 that his long-running illness had developed into terminal cancer, and staff rallied round to arrange an impromptu, early wedding at the Big C Centre in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

The couple were married just four days after the shocking news, in a small, intimate ceremony attended by family and close friends.

Sadly, Nathan passed away just five days after the couple achieved their last wish.

'It was much more accelerated than we could have imagined,' said Aneliese.

Nathan, 32, was born in Attleborough and attended school there before leaving for City College Norwich.

He had been a keen member of the scouts, progressing from the cubs, to the scouts and through to the venture scouts.

'He absolutely loved it; they were a big part of his life. He'd been hoping to get back to scout leading.'

An active man, Nathan worked as a printer for over a decade, was a keen footballer, playing for Shropham Reserves, and had recently become a town councillor for Attleborough.

Although Nathan's death is a tragic loss, his family and friends are determined to see some good come from it.

'We're actually in the process of starting up a memorial fund in his name. At his funeral, rather than having flowers, we're having donations to his fund,' said Aneliese.

The project will be named the The Nathan Bray Memorial Fund for Attleborough Scout Group, and donations will be used to help scouts buy equipment and attend trips that they otherwise would not be able to afford.

A fundraising event is already planned for the original date of the couple's wedding, and four friends, including Nathan's best man, are planning a charity cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats next April.

Nathan's funeral takes place at St Mary's Church in Attleborough on August 14 at 2pm, and donations to his memorial fund can be made via Rosedale Funeral Home in Attleborough.