A BRUSH with cervical cancer has spurred a young mum to warn of the danger of putting off smear tests.

Sophie Beale had to have hospital treatment after a delayed test revealed pre-cancerous cells on her cervix.

This Sunday she will run the Brighton marathon to raise money for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, the only charity in the UK dedicated to women affected by cervical abnormalities.

Sophie, 29, from Taw Hill, had her first smear at the age of 25 and was due to have another three years later. But the birth of son Archie 17 months ago delayed her second appointment.

Three months after he arrived she should have had her smear, but put it off for a couple more months until May last year.

Thinking everything would be fine as it had been for the first, she went along for her appointment and promptly put it out of her mind. Four days later a letter came through the door warning her that abnormal cells had been found.

“It was totally out of the blue,” she said. “You think: ‘I’m young, that sort of thing doesn’t happen to me, it’s only my second smear.’”

“When I got the letter I called my husband. I was in tears. He was fantastic, very supportive. He came with me for all my appointments.”

Sophie, who works as an events manager for Intrinsic Financial Services, was called in for a colposcopy and on July 1 last year went in to hospital for day surgery to remove the pre-cancerous cells.

In January a follow up scan gave her the all clear.

Her frightening experience made her want to raise awareness among women of all ages of the risk of ignoring smear test invitations.

The death of Big Brother contestant Jade Goody in 2008 from cervical cancer at the age of 27 triggered a 400,000 increase in the number of women having smear tests in the following year.

But according to the trust, the numbers are now lower than they were before Jade’s diagnosis, with one in four women in the UK not taking up their invitations. Among 25 to 29-year-olds one in three ignore them.

“I thought I wanted to do something to make a difference,” said Sophie.

She decided to use her running hobby to raise money an awareness at the same time. So far she has managed to raise almost £1,000 online and Old Mutual Wealth, the parent company of her employer, has promised to match the total.

Sophie, who trains with the Slinn Allstars, started running in 2011 to lose weight for her 2012 wedding to John. “I’m looking forward to it, but I’m a bit nervous because it is the first one,” she admitted.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to all of my family, friends and co-workers who have sponsored me so far and made donations on my JustGiving link. I am actually quite overwhelmed by how many people have been so kind.

Visit justgiving.com/SophieBeale2016 to sponsor her.