Adam Low's aunt looks on proudly as he blows up a balloon.

"That's the first time he's had enough air in his lungs to do that since his treatment," she says.

Adam, ten, was one of dozens of children at the Katie Trust summer party.

There's a buzz as the children, their brothers, sisters and parents, wait to see the performance of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, at Darlington's Civic Theatre.

Every family here has been touched by a struggle for life. The organisers, Martin and Debbie Neal, are no exception.

They set up the Katie Trust three years ago after losing their daughter, aged six, after a long and brave battle against a brain tumour.

The charity funds an extra member of research staff at the Cancer Research Unit at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, the regional centre for paediatric oncology.

Staff at the unit are looking for new ways to treat medullblastoma tumours, the cancer which claimed Katie's life.

Mr Neal, a sports journalist, said: "We held a summer party in 1999 and it was so successful that we decided to make it an annual event.

"It is for children who are currently receiving treatment for cancer, and their families. I think it helps to know they are not on their own, and each person understands what the others are going through.

"The children have all been through some difficult times and deserve a bit of fun."