BRAVE Soham youngster Liam Fairhurst is to swim a mile to say thank you to the charity which supported him and his family through his 18-month battle with cancer. After months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, the 11-year-old is determined to com

BRAVE Soham youngster Liam Fairhurst is to swim a mile to say 'thank you' to the charity which supported him and his family through his 18-month battle with cancer.

After months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, the 11-year-old is determined to complete his marathon swim and has already been promised more than £5,000 in sponsorship cash.

And the youngster's ambitious fund-raiser is even more impressive because the cancer destroyed half the muscles in his left thigh.

"He has to be careful to avoid knocking or banging the leg because he could still lose it," said his dad, Mark. "He has a scar from his knee to his hip bone and he has lost part of the muscle that controls the knee cap. The scar tissue is very powerful and it is pulling the leg out by around 20 to 30 degrees.

"The radiotherapy could also cause shortening of the leg and his bone marrow is badly bruised, but put him in the water and he is very capable."

Liam will swim 64 25-metre lengths of the pool at Cambridge's Next Generation gym, which is equivalent to one mile.

His swim on December 22 will raise cash for CLIC Sargent, the UK's leading children's cancer charity which supports young cancer sufferers and their families.

After hearing Liam's story Ely's Meat Loaf tribute band, Matt Shaw and Neverland Nemesis, pledged to at least double the youngster's charity total and possibly raise up to £7,000 from a special show.

Matt, an ITV Stars in Your Eyes finalist who plays Meatloaf, and his band will join a star-studded line up at The Junction, Cambridge on Monday, December 18.

The 45-strong crew at the venue will give their time for free and the evening will be hosted by Julian Bennett, fashion guru and star of television shows, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the Jules and Lulu Show.

Heavyweight boxer, Donovan "Razor" Ruddick, Leeds United footballer Lee Sharpe, Mylene Klass runner-up in this year's I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and former EastEnders star, Michelle Gayle, have also been invited to take part along with a host of other stars.

The concert, sponsored by Ely radio station Star FM, is also supported by a number of businesses, including Sainsbury's and Tesco which have agreed to donate items to the evening.

INFO: Tickets costing £8.50 can be bought from The Junction box office on 01223 511511 or via its website at www.junction.co.uk