Jessica Alexander, of Tensing Close, who lost an eye during her brave battle, was diagnosed with retinoblastoma last September, just days after she joined St Vincent's Primary School in Penketh.

Her mum Nicky said: "I noticed a 'cat's eye' glaze in her eye, then one day she was watching TV and one eye seemed completely stuck so I made an appointment with an optician, who said her retina had become detached."

A consultant at Warrington Hospital confirmed that Jessica had a tumour in her eye that was growing forward, and within a week she was sent to St Bartholomew's Hospital in London to have it removed.

Her dad Robert said: "She will keep having new eyes fitted while she is growing until she is aged about 16 or 18.

"Now there are coral implants, which are very advanced. They are attached to muscles in the eye so when her good eye moves the artificial one will move with it. Eventually it becomes like part of the body and vessels will start to grow through it."

Retinoblastoma is most common in babies aged under two,

and there is a less than five per cent chance of children over the age of five developing the condition, so Jessica's is a very rare case.

Now her parents are working to raise awareness of the condition, and next month

The Retinoblastoma Society is holding a national awareness week for children with eye cancer (September 14-20), when posters will be sent to GPs across the country highlighting the signs and symptoms of the condition.

Parents are encouraged to take their children for routine eye tests, and to be aware that on photographs an eye affected by retinoblastoma will often not show a 'red eye' response to a flash, when an unaffected eye will.

Robert's brother-in-law Peter Hately, from Cambridgeshire, has just completed a walk of nearly 200 miles across the Lake District and North Yorkshire in 12 days to raise more than £2,000 for the charity and Jessica's parents are hoping to get involved in fundraising activities in the future.

Nicky said: "Jessica has been really, really good and couldn't wait to get back to school after it all.

"Now she has check-ups to check her artificial eye and her good eye as there is a slight chance she could get it again in the future.

"The only thing she will not be able to do when she grows up is join the forces - she will still be able to drive, and do anything else she wants.

"She has been so brave."

The Retinoblastoma Society can be contacted on 020 7377 5578.

BRAVE JESSIE

BEATS CANCER