An artwork started by a 22-year-old woman before her death has been bought for £2,000 - and then given back to her family.

Francesca McCaigue, known as Fran, had complex congenital heart disease and had been supported by Derian House Children's Hospice in Chorley, Lancashire, since she was eight.

She died in hospital on 6 July, with her sister Chlöe beside her, before she was able to finish the artwork she had begun for the hospice's charity ball.

After hearing Fran's story at the ball, the Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Councillor Mahfooz Hussain, made the winning £2,000 bid before giving the artwork back to her family.

Fran's mother Nicola, from Colne, said she and Chlöe cried when Mahfooz Hussain announced he was returning the artwork to them.

"It was a beautiful moment," she said.

"Fran was looking forward to the Derian ball, and she had the most beautiful dress ready to wear."

Nicola said Fran had begun creating the artwork earlier in the year, knowing it would be displayed at the event.

"Sadly, she never had the chance to finish it. But her sister Chlöe stepped in and added her own bit of sparkle," she said.

Fran had spent much of her life in and out of hospital because of her heart condition.

Her mother said Derian House had been part of her life since childhood.

"Fran grew up at Derian House. The staff there have known her since she was eight years old," Nicola said.

"It's the place where she made lifelong friends and experienced things she might never have.

"She even spent her 22nd birthday, her final birthday, at the hospice."

After Fran died, she was taken to Derian House, where she remained in one of its specially cooled Sunflower Rooms.

The hospice says the rooms allow families to spend more time with their loved ones after death.

The artwork was later auctioned at Derian House's second charity ball at the Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel.

The event raised £43,226 for Derian House, which supports children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families.

Caroline Taylor, deputy chief executive at the hospice, said seeing Fran's artwork "take centre stage was a particularly special moment".

"It was a beautiful tribute to Fran, her creativity and the bond she shared with her sister Chlöe," she said.

Derian House costs £6m a year to run and supports more than 400 babies, children and young people across the North West.