Her university place was put on hold for a year after her mother was in a riding accident that sent her into a coma and although she came round she never recovered.

[3] Nell spent a gap year at the Circus Flora[1] based in St. Louis Missouri which had been founded in the mid-1980s.

She was awarded a £10,000 grant by the Jerwood Foundation and that enable more people to be involved with producing a show.

She described cancer as "boring" and she lived her last months between hospital appointments and continuing to appear in her circus albeit with her cropped hair covered by a large blond wig.

[3] Gifford died in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital of cancer and her niece took over the circus.

Her younger sister the writer Clover Stroud later wrote a book that described their life together titled The Red of My Blood.