THE legacy of Madison Allan will live on in a new charity bearing her name.

The family of the Lower Darwen seven-year-old who died of Neuroblastoma cancer on Boxing Day last year are registering Maddi’s Butterflies with the charity commission.

They want to raise money to provide holidays and treats for children with cancer, as well as support for their families.

Madison’s grandmother Alison Foster, of Lord’s Crescent, Lower Darwen, said the name had a powerful meaning.

She said: “When Maddi was poorly she did a lot of writing and drawing, and when her mum Samantha went into her room after she passed, she noticed that all of the pictures had butterflies on them.

“At the funeral we all wore pink butterflies — it wasn’t planned — someone just went out and got them because they thought it was nice.

“Then in January after the funeral, her grandad John was in the garage when he noticed a butterfly fluttering around his head.

“Butterflies are very unusual in the winter, and it lasted about two weeks. "It felt like Maddi was sending us a message. Samantha, Maddi’s mum, liked the name over ‘memorial’ as she thought that sounded a bit morbid.”

Alison added: “We have always been very keen to use our experience to help other people in the same situation, and this is the way that Maddi lives on.

"We hope to send little parcels to children in hospital, because Maddi’s face lit uo when she got presents addressed to her.

"We also want to pay for them to go on holiday and help sort out insurances — basically make lives easier and better at a very hard time.”

Madison’s family are now waiting for confirmation of bank details before they can apply for a registered charity number.

Details on how to make donations will be available shortly.