Darlington family's bid to raise awareness after death of 'cheeky' Amelia

Amelia Davies, from Darlington, died in January, about four months after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

The eight-year-old, who loved swimming and mixed martial arts, was a pupil at Polam Hall School, which is planning to create a garden, with "buddy bench", to remember Amelia.

Her mum Rhiannon Davies, who wants to raise awareness about the cancer and its symptoms, described her as a "cheeky" girl with a big personality.

Amelia Davies, 8, from Darlington, who died from neuroblastoma in January

Amelia, who underwent chemotherapy last year, had been responding well to treatment and had been due to have an operation to remove an 11cm tumour from her abdomen on February 8.

She died on January 25 after being admitted to hospital with a high temperature.

Ms Davies said: "It was extremely unexpected. Everything was going really well.

"It was a massive shock."

Amelia was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which affects about a 100 children in the UK each year, last year after experiencing stomach pains and constipation.

Her mum said: "We never thought it would be so serious. I thought she had been eating too much because she had put on some weight during lockdown. It was when she couldn't finish a sandwich that I called the doctor.

"It was going on for a few weeks but I didn't think anything of it."

Amelia Davies, from Darlington, who died from neuroblastoma in January

She added: "It's so scary to think of a child having a stomach pain and it ending up here.

"I'm thankful that through all the treatment she was still herself. Her body was completely different but she was happy and she was still cheeky. She was really sassy and funny. She was a right character."

After her funeral, more than £3,000 was donated to Neuroblastoma UK, which funds Newcastle-based research into the disease, including work done by Amelia's specialist Professor Deborah Tweddle.

Ms Davies is keen to raise awareness about the symptoms. As well as stomach pain and constipation, symptoms can include aches and pains, loss of appetite or sweating in the early stages, as well as swelling when the cancer has developed.

Depending on where the tumour is, children can become breathless or have difficulty swallowing, or may have difficulty walking.

She said: "I just want to get the word out and raise awareness. Before this happened I didn't know anything about it. I didn't realise that was what Bradley Lowery had."

Her death has prompted Darlington family Henrik and Jeanine Bekker, and their children Mckayla, 13, and Alexis, 9, who was in the same year as Amelia at Polam Hall, to raise money for the bench and garden.

Hendrik and Jeanine Bekker and their kids Alexis and Mckayla are taking part in an event to raise money in memory of eight-year-old Amelia Davies, who died of neuroblastoma in January Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

The family is doing the David Goggins' 4x4x48 challenge, which means they will be running or cycling four miles every four hours for 48 hours. They start at midnight on March 5 and aim to finish at Polam Hall.

They have already raised more than £3,000.

Amelia's dad, Danny Hill, who described his daughter as "100 per cent cheeky", said: "I'm really grateful to the Bekker family. Hopefully we'll get Amelia's year together in the summer and they can get involved in planting in the garden."

To donate, visit their fundraising page