THE parents of five-year-old brain tumour sufferer John Mark Riding today said a massive thank-you to caring Lancashire Evening Telegraph readers who have raised nearly £3,000 for the tragic youngster.

Now the boy's dad John, of Blackburn, and mum Jacqueline Sanderson, are today preparing for the Christmas Day with John Mark they thought they'd never see.

And in a new twist to the heartbreaking tale, funds raised through the Evening Telegraph appeal will now go to a cancer charity.

It was hoped the money would be used to send the little lad to America for a specialist operation but that has been ruled out because he is too ill.

Fund-raisers kicked into action when they were told John Mark, a former Evening Telegraph Baby of the Year, might be cured by receiving intensive chemotherapy in America.

But after being told by doctors in Bristol that their was no guarantee the treatment would work and that the side effects could seriously impair their son's quality of life, John and Jacqueline opted for radiotherapy treatment for their son in the UK.

Several times a week for the past six weeks, John Mark, who now lives in Cornwall, has undergone radiotherapy treatment in Bristol, in an attempt to stop the tumour spreading.

Radiographers said he was the "best little boy" they had ever seen and now his parents are watching on anxiously to see if the tumour has been frozen by the treatment.

Doctors have stressed there is virtually no cure for John Mark's condition called intrinsic brain glioma, or a tumour on the brain stem.

They had given him a five per cent chance of recovery, although those odds have improved with radiotherapy treatment and they have warned it will be a month before they know for sure how well John Mark has responded to the treatment.

The brave boy received his last dose on Friday, enabling him to return home in time for Christmas Day.

The only way of knowing how well the radiotherapy had been is to conduct a biopsy -- but doctors don't want to do that because disturbing the tumour could cause it to spread again.

Chemotherapy treatments using a mixture of drugs may also be used to keep the tumour under control.

Dad John said: "John Mark is doing very well and is looking much better. He has been taking steroids as well as this treatment and he will be reassessed at the end of January to see what can be done next.

"This Christmas is the one we thought we would not spend with John Mark when we were told in September how long he would have.

"We are just hoping that things go OK but we know that, at best, it may only be another six months.

"The treatments mentioned from America were just too high-risk, according to our doctors here, and could have done real damage.

"So we went for radiotherapy, the nearest thing there is to something known to help and chemotherapy here might be the next step.

"It is very hard for us all."

John Mark, who lived in Darwen until three years ago and now lives in Cornwall, celebrated his fifth birthday earlier this month. His birthday treat was a shiny new bike with stabilisers.

John said: "We were a bit worried that he might not be able to cope. But he just jumped on it and rode off. It was fantastic. It is the quality time that we are getting with him, and things like that, that really matters.

"He is a very, very brave lad and you can see all the time that he is fighting. All the nurses say they have never seen a five-year-old cope so well with his treatment. He goes in and lies down and gets on with it, and is out in ten minutes. "

John is also planning to bring his son up to Blackburn for a family get-together in January if he is well enough, when he will get to see his aunts, uncles and siblings, plus his 30 cousins, who all live in the area.

Funds raised through the Evening Telegraph appeal will now go to cancer charity CLIC, an organisation which helps families of children with cancer.

They own the block of houses John Mark and his family have stayed in during the radiotherapy treatment.

They also fund support workers and research into possible cures.

John added: "The money raising has meant a lot to us, it shows people care.

"We hope they are happy with how the money will be used, because it will help other people too.

"We really just want to say a big thank you and assure people the money will help others in the future."