LIAM Fairhurst, the Soham youngster who fought cancer before going on to raise £70,000 for a children s charity, has been celebrated for his efforts with a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award. Liam was nominated for the award by his school, Soham Vill

LIAM Fairhurst, the Soham youngster who fought cancer before going on to raise £70,000 for a children's charity, has been celebrated for his efforts with a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award.

Liam was nominated for the award by his school, Soham Village College, and was presented with a certificate and a badge during assembly last week, where he was joined by his parents and proud teachers from his former primary school.

The award is normally presented to children aged between 12 and 16, but the 11-year-old's determined fund-raising for CLIC Sargent, including a gruelling one-mile swim and an appearance on ITV's Million Pound Giveaway, persuaded the committee to bend the rules.

Assistant principal Stephen Kenna said: "We are extremely proud of him because of the way he has represented the school and our area both nationally and locally.

"He's brought to people's attention the fact that not all children and teenagers have an easy time of it, but they can still achieve a lot."

Liam's father Mark said the award has meant a lot to Liam, who has dedicated his fund-raising work to his friend Jack, who lost his battle to cancer last year.

"It is a really nice recognition of what Liam's been doing," Mr Fairhurst said.

"He's got a shiny badge that he's been proudly wearing around school and a certificate that's been signed by the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown."

Next week, Liam will travel to London to give a talk to some 70 MPs about his fund-raising to mark the launch of the Diana Awards as an independent charity.

Mr Fairhurst said Liam isn't daunted by the prospect of such an audience and said his son has quickly got used to talking in public.

"It doesn't seem to bother him really - he started chatting at about 12 months and was quite quickly using short sentences," he said.

Liam turns 12 on February 26, and he will celebrate by handing over a cheque for more than £70,000 to CLIC Sargent in Cambridge.

He will continue his fund-raising for the charity, but the family decided his birthday would be a suitable time to make the presentation because Liam's friend Jack died aged 12.

"We are incredibly proud of him," said Mr Fairhurst.

"Getting him back after we thought we were going to lose him was good enough, but now he has achieved so much."

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