Katherine Jenkins has paid tribute to her best friend Polly Noble who has passed away after a seven year battle with cervical cancer. The classical singer posted the above image to her Twitter account with the caption: "heartbroken. Rest in Peace my darling friend".

Heartbroken. Rest in Peace my darling friend @pollynoble pic.twitter.com/5uPlf2tXrm — Kath Jenkins (@KathJenkins) May 12, 2014

Polly and Katherine met in 2001 when they were both starting out in the music industry although Polly later trained as a holistic coach and nutrition guru while writing about her experiences on her website. Speaking about Polly, Katherine previously said: "Polly has turned her own experiences into an incredibly positive force. "The book she has co-written on coping with cancer is just what I wish I had been able to turn to when my father became ill. "She has also trained as a holistic health coach, become a nutrition guru and developed her own website on healthy living". Katherine's father died of lung cancer when she was 15 and she was there to support her friend while she underwent treatment after her initial cancer diagnosis in 2005. The treatment worked to begin with but in 2010, Polly found a lump in her neck that turned out to be a secondary tumour. In addition to her Twitter page, Katherine also posted the below Instagram snap of her and Polly.