A holiday for Liam

Liam Duffy, 16, of Mendip Way, Low Moor, Bradford, had surgery and radiotherapy as a nine-year-old to get rid of a brain tumour.

At the time he and his family raised £7,000 for the Telegraph & Argus Millennium Scanner Appeal.

He had been in remission for six years but, in January, doctors in Leeds discovered his cancer - a medulloblastoma - had returned.

He began chemotherapy at Leeds General Infirmary but a first course of drugs failed to rid him of the cancer and he has now started on a different drug which leaves him ill and prone to infections.

"It is more intense and it knocks his blood count quite low," said his mum Carol Duffy.

"He has more bad days than good days. It just zaps his energy."

It means the GCSE student misses a lot of lessons but his friends at Wyke Manor School have not forgotten him. When they heard about his illness they decided to rally round and raise money to help send him on holiday.

James Wheelwright, 16, Jordan Leedham, 16, Chris Carter, 15 and James Wilkinson, 15, have now completed a sponsored walk to Whernside.

And Liam's family and friends managed to raise almost £400 through sponsoring the boys.

The boys said: "This was a joint idea. We felt we had to do something to help Liam. We've had an overwhelming response from staff and Year 11 students and it looks like we'll raise about £600."

Liam now faces at least another nine to ten weeks of treatment before he will have to be admitted to LGI for high dose chemotherapy which will see him in hospital for up to six weeks.

He will also be given back his own stem cells, which were collected earlier.

Before he has to undergo the ordeal, Mrs Duffy, who has two other children, Steven 18 and Ryan, ten, is hoping to be able to take him away for a holiday to Euro Disney.

Mrs Duffy says she has been overwhelmed by the support her son has been receiving.

"It is nice people care," she said. "We are touched how people pull together at times like this."