IT was the inspiring message she used to motivate her sons and the pupils at the school where she worked.

Now the words of a devoted mum will live on as a legacy to generations of youngsters long after her death from an aggressive cancer.

Family, friends and colleagues of Katie Millmore gathered at Cupernham Infant School in Romsey to pay tribute to the popular teaching assistant.

They unveiled a pink rose bush and a bench in her name at the Bransley Close school, bearing the message “believe in the magic of your dreams”.

The touching tribute came seven months after the 36-year-old mum from Romsey died following a four-year battle with a brain tumour.

The bench was unveiled to mark Wear A Hat Day – an awareness initiative run by the Brain Tumour Research charity.

The school raised £300 for the charity at the event, following another £1,150 raised last year including £350 Katie bravely raised before her death in August. A total of £600 was also donated in lieu of flowers at Katie’s funeral.

The popular teaching assistant died in the Countess Mountbatten Hospice, but not before seeing her younger brother Sam marry his wife Carly at a special service held two months before the official ceremony in October.

Her sons Adam, eight, and Matthew, ten, were among those gathering at the bench.

Katie’s mum Linda Purdue, 61, who lives in Hounsdown, thanked everyone for their generosity.

She said: “Katie was a devoted mother who was like a tigress fighting to ensure her boys could have everything.

“Once she had a brain tumour she wanted to do all she could to raise money for the charity.

“She would have been absolutely delighted to have seen how everyone has continued that.”

Linda added: “The boys have been brave and collected more money because they knew that is what she would have wanted.

“They say they are going to sit on the bench for five minutes every day and think about their mummy.”

Mrs Purdue also thanked Bustagroove dance group in Southampton, which helped the boys raise £200 from a series of events, including a Christmas show and a trophy in her name.

She added: “There’s a huge hole in the family now she has left and I miss her dreadfully as she was more than a daughter – she was a friend.”