Jill Stew - the well-known Witney dance teacher who ran the Jill Stew School of Dance - has died at the age of 70 after losing her fight against breast cancer.

She became a dance teacher in the late 70s when she started teaching 10 pupils in Ceewood Hall, and in 1991 opened her own dance studio in an old blanket warehouse.

The school now has 250 students and Mrs Stew's pupils have gone to to study at the Royal Academy and the English National Ballet School.

Two of her former students have starred as dancers, in Phantom of the Opera and Mrs Henderson Presents.

She was born in Abingdon and lived in Ducklington Lane, Witney with her husband David. She also leaves two children, Tim and Joanna, and two grandchildren.

Mr Stew said: "Her school was not just for talented pupils it was everyone. She took just as much pleasure from the improvement of the untalented as the talented.

"There must be hundreds of old students out there who stand a little straighter and walk a little taller because of her."

Isabelle Spencer, of the Witney Dramatic Society, said: "She was a promising actress before she gave up to concentrate on dancing.

"She was a very strict disciplinarian. She produced the most wonderful students and I think she gave Witney something it didn't quite appreciate.

"Dance was her passion and she demanded an exactness, you couldn't be almost on the beat you had to be on the beat. She was a high priestess of dance.

"She had an exuberant personality, she could, like all of us, be frightening when she was angry.

"Many young girls have got a lot to be grateful to her for - some went on to have professional careers."

"She had high standards, she was a perfectionist in dance and in her ordinary life. She helped students to set up their own high standards in life."

Amy Lawson trained with Mrs Stew for 10 years and is now a professional dancer.

Her mother Carol Lawson said: "Jill was an inspiration to us all.

"Her steadfastness for perfection helped to shape many young lives, giving them the chance to experience the wonderful world of dance."

Nicky Monk, mother of pupil Lizzie, said: "She was a lovely, lovely lady. She got such a thrill out of seeing her pupils work so hard and enjoy it so much.

"She worked day in day out, she was very dedicated. She would bend over backwards for her students.

"She loved them all and was so proud of them.

"They have a huge respect for her, they all will miss her so much. They along with parents will be brokenhearted.

"It has hit us hard, we are devastated."

The school will continue to be run by two former pupils.