Popular Barnstaple vendor Dianne has passed away

Popular Barnstable Big Issue vendor Dianne Cumper has died.

The 45-year-old had only been selling the magazine for a few weeks outside the Green Lanes Shopping Centre in the North Devon town before she passed away on August 14.

The former NHS nurse, known to pals as Di, had fallen on hard times after returning to UK following a spell working in South Africa.

Dianne started selling The Big Issue shortly after and had been improving her selling skills before her untimely death.

She was laid to rest in a ceremony at North Devon Crematorium on August 28 with many members of the Barnstaple street community in attendance.

The circumstances around her death are being investigated.

Kizzy Angell, North Devon Big Issue franchisee, said: “I have known Di since she arrived in Barnstaple Town centre. A former NHS nurse she had fallen down on her luck after returning from South Africa where she worked for a while.

“After a while Di decided to get on top of things again and sell TBI. She had been selling for only a few weeks before she passed away, but many people had commented on how much better she was looking. She came to me to buy her magazines with her make up on, her hair lovely and a smile of hope on her face.

“She even encouraged another resident in the place she lived to start selling. Each week she was selling more and more magazines. Di was popular with the townsfolk, the homeless and shopkeepers alike. We will miss her dearly.”