A POPULAR West Cumberland Hospital nurse has died in her sleep.

Crea Aitcheson (formerly Simpson), 57, passed away on June 3 just days after seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert at Glasgow.

She worked for North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust for 34 years after joining in 1979 as a staff nurse at West Cumberland Hospital.

Crea moved to West Cumbria from Northern Ireland in 1979 after qualifying as a registered nurse at the Royal Belfast.

She then started at the WCH on Overwater ward before working in A&E and fracture clinic, later becoming a sister in orthopaedics. She subsequently married Joe Simpson, who was a hospital porter, and they had two children, Emily and Connor.

After returning from maternity leave, Crea moved to outpatients initially as sister, then as manager and matron. In this role, she covered outpatients and medical records across both sites and organised the move of medical records to the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle.

Crea retired at 55 and took on a new role in patient experience which she very much enjoyed. She continued to do the odd bank shift at WCH and in outpatients at Workington Community Hospital, only giving up her registration in May 2016. She was also a volunteer at the Samaritans.

Crea remarried in September 2015 to Joe Aitcheson.

Carol Cockelty, a close friend of Crea and a specialist nurse in ENT at WCH, said: "Crea never asked anyone to do anything that she wasn’t prepared to do herself and was always ready to roll up her sleeves and get stuck in.

"She was a true professional and a role model as well as being a wonderful colleague and fun-loving friend. Crea was respected by many and is irreplaceable – she will be sorely missed by her family, friends and colleagues.”

Her funeral will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at St Mary’s RC Church, Egremont at 9.15am, and then at Distington Crematorium. This will be followed by The Grove at Cleator to which all welcome. Donations will be made to the Samaritans.