The family of murdered nursery nurse Becky McGlone have launched an £50,000 appeal to fund a playroom at the Oxford Children's Hospital and name it in her honour.

The 23-year-old's brother Richard said he and his parents, Keith, who now lives in Geneva, and Kate Young, who has relocated to Spain, wanted to leave a fitting legacy to his sister.

She and Craig Bentley, of Laburnum Close, Ambrosden, near Bicester, were killed in August last year by her ex-boyfriend Dean Irvine, 29, of Bicester, who then took his own life.

Sales executive Richard, 25, of Parsley Place, Banbury, said the family had already raised £3,300 through the kindness of friends, relatives and work colleagues.

He added: "It's unbelievably heart-breaking that someone who is effectively still a child herself about to embark on what was going to be a wonderful life had that whipped from her. Her life was ripped from us as well.

"The only way my family can come close to getting through this is by leaving some legacy to her that will benefit others, and those others will be children."

Miss McGlone had been training as a nursery nurse since she was 18 and was working at Bear Necessities Nursery School in Wendlebury when she was murdered.

Her brother said: "Children had been very important to her for a long time most of her adult life.

"We want to fund a playroom because she dealt with children in that sort of environment, and a playroom gives a bit of positivity."

To start the appeal, Richard, a Coventry University of Performing Arts graduate, is organising a night of live music and comedy next month, called Little Night Out, and has enlisted some of his former college friends to help out with the entertainment.

There will be a number of playrooms at the Oxford Children's Hospital, which is being built at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, and is due to open its doors in January.

The dedicated 106-bed unit will be tailored to young patients, who are currently treated at different hospitals spread across the city.

An Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign spokesman said: "We are delighted that Richard and his family are supporting the Oxford Children's campaign.

"We think their efforts to raise money in Becky's memory are a fitting tribute to a young woman who worked with and loved children."

Tickets for Little Night Out, which will be held on Saturday, June 10, at Exeter Hall in Kidlington, cost £15 each and are available by emailing littlenightout@hotmail.co.uk