THE daughter of a Barnsley woman who became the first person in England to die of rabies in almost a decade is currently on a fundraising mission in Cambodia - and they’ve already vaccinated 250 dogs this week alone.

Following contact with a stray dog while on holiday in Morocco in February, 59-year-old Yvonne Ford, of Redbrook, was diagnosed with the rare virus at Barnsley Hospital.

She was then treated at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield and died on June 11.

Her daughter Robyn has since been raising money and this month she travelled out to Cambodia with Mission Rabies in a bid to try and eradicate the disease.

They are an award-winning charity run by the Worldwide Veterinary Service which aims to vaccinate dogs and other animals across Asia and Africa.

So far she’s already helped vaccinate 250 dogs - and despite initially planning to travel alone, Robyn has gone out to Asia with her husband Andrew.

She said: “It is a horrendous disease and unfortunately I have experienced that firsthand.

“I knew from the get go that I had to make a difference and try and get rid of this horrible illness.

“So far this week we’ve probably vaccinated nearly 250 dogs.

“We’re doing well.

“I was originally going to come on my own to Cambodia but due to the sensitivity of it it was a good idea that my husband Andrew came with me.

“We’re both vaccinating dogs together in separate teams.

“We’re trying to get the most amount of dogs vaccinated each day and then see at the end of the week who’s done the most.

“Anything above 100 is a really good number.

“I thought that there’s no time like now - if I didn’t do it now then when would I do it?”

Robyn says that as soon as her mum died earlier this year, she began to research what rabies was and how it affects people.

She added: “From the get go I just became a bit of a professional on the disease.

“If there is a chance of eradicating it then I wanted to be a part of that.

“If it is 2030 when it’s eradicated, just to be a part of that would be so incredible.”

She says her mum would be cheering her on.

“My mum was such an incredible woman and she is my biggest force to do any of this,” she added.

“She would be cheering me on, telling me ‘go, go, go’.

“She’s on my shoulder shouting me on.”

Robyn is hoping to change the way people ‘holiday’ - and is urging people to be wary when approaching animals abroad.

She said: “Part of my raising awareness is changing the way people holiday.

“A lot of people do touch and feed the dogs.

“But it’s just asking people to be more cautious and if you are bitten or scratched, to just get the right vaccinations and follow the protocol.

“I’m just so proud that we can make a difference.

“It’s an incredible experience and I wish more people could do it.”