To her neighbours she was known as the nurse to the Queen - a hard-working mother who moved to the UK from India ten years ago.

Jacintha Saldanha died at King Edward VII hospital staff lodgings yesterday in what is believed to have been a suicide.

Tributes poured in praising the 46-year-old nurse, describing her as a 'lovely' person who was devoted to her family.

Only three days before her tragic death, the nurse had transferred a hoax call from two Australian DJs who obtained intimate details about Kate Middelton who was staying at the hospital.

Mrs Saldanha lived in Bristol with her partner Benedict Barboza, a 49-year-old hospital accountant, known as Ben.

The pair moved to Britain from the Mangalore region of India more than ten years ago, having previously spent time in the Middle East.

She has two children, Junal, 16, and daughter, believed to be 14.

The woman is thought to have split her time between the family home and the London hospital, where she stayed in staff lodgings close to the main building.

News of Mrs Saldanha's death caused shockwaves both internationally and locally.

A neighbour said the family lived in their £130,000 terraced home in Bristol for about eight years.

The neighbour said: 'They're a lovely family - Ben gives my lad a lift when he goes refereeing at Bristol Rovers with Junal.

'It's so so tragic, she was such a lovely woman.

She was always so smartly dressed and well presented.

'I think her kids are secondary school age, she definitely has one boy and one girl.'

A former neighbour fought back tears as she described Mrs Saldanha as a 'nice, lovely lady'.

She said: 'What a terrible tragedy - just before Christmas as well. Oh those two young boys - they'll be heartbroken. Her and Ben were a lovely couple.

'They didn't live here very long, but they were such nice neighbours - they invited us in for a curry when they moved in.

'They lived here seven or eight years ago, if not more. They kept themselves to themselves mostly.

'They bought their own house and moved on - they were just renting here I think.

'I can't believe what happened. It's so sad, so tragic. They always spoke to us - she was such a nice lady.

It's devastating to hear she's gone - and in such circumstances that could be so easily avoided.

A neighbour revealed that she was called a 'nurse for the Queen' because of her employment at the prestigious London hospital used by the Royal family.

A neighbour, known as Maxine, said: 'She was a lovely woman, just so smiley and bubbly.

'We used to joke with her that she was a nurse for the queen, she was just so nice.

'She'll be much missed, her family will be absolutely devastated. It's so tragic.'

Mrs Saldanha's driving instructor Jeff Sellick said he was in 'complete shock' at her death.

He told Sky News: 'It's just such a shame, she was such a nice person.

'I can only imagine what happened would have played heavily on her mind and I just feel for the family at this point because she must have been obviously deeply traumatised about what happened to her.

'It's just such a shame that it's happened to such a nice person.'

He described her as a 'private' person

Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead days after taking the hoax call from an Australian radio station and putting it through to a nurse on the Duchess of Cambridge's ward, who divulged private information about her treatment.

The body of the 46-year-old mother-of-two was discovered at an address near King Edward VII's hospital in London - where she had worked for four years - on Friday morning.

Kate, who is understood to be well under 12 weeks pregnant, was admitted to the hospital on Monday with severe morning sickness and released again on Thursday.

The storm over 2Day FM's prank is growing; major firms have pulled advertising while presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian have been taken off air.

Speaking at a news conference in Melbourne, Rhys Holleran, CEO of 2Day FM's parent company Southern Cross Austereo said the "shocked and devastated" DJs had been offered help dealing with the tragedy.

He said: "This is a tragic event that could not have been reasonably foreseen and we're deeply saddened by it.

"I spoke to both presenters early this morning and it's fair to say they're completely shattered.

"These people aren't machines, they're human beings. We're all affected by this."

Supermarket giant Coles and telecoms firm Telstra both announced they are withdrawing their business from the station at the earliest opportunity, while Australian media are reporting that media company Optus is also reviewing its position.

The station later announced that it would pull all advertising from its airwaves with immediate effect