HUNDREDS of tributes have been paid to a young girl who has lost her battle with cancer.

The tragic death of little Beau from Roberttown, Liversedge, has been met with hundreds of messages of condolence and sadness from people who have followed her brave fight against a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer. 

Shirley Hepworth, Beau’s mum, announced that she had died on Sunday, just short of her 7th birthday. 

Beau had stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, which has one of the lowest survival rates of all childhood cancers.     

A campaign to send Beau to the United States for a vaccine trial raised almost £650,000 but sadly Beau suffered a relapse and her cancer spread before she could enrol on the trial. The funds will now be used to help other children through the charity Solving Kids Cancer UK.   

Shirley said she had spent “one last heavenly night with my beautiful Beau”. In a post on the ‘Beau’s Fight Against Cancer’ Facebook page, Shirley wrote, “As you relaxed, after that last breath I felt your relief, I saw your peace.”

She said: "We love you more than you could ever know. You will forever be my beautiful little girl.”

Beau’s fight against cancer started when she fell ill in December 2020. Local people responded with a wide range of fund-raising events and her case prompted calls for the government to support a UK-led vaccine trial so other families would not need to raise huge sums to pay for potentially life-saving treatments. 

Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater said: “Beau was a beautiful little girl, with a wonderful smile and a bubbly personality.

"She coped with the awful effects of her cancer with incredible bravery.

"Her mum Shirley, sister Redd and grandma June gave her all the love and support in the world and couldn’t have done more for her. My heart goes out to them at this unbelievably difficult time.  

“Beau’s battle with neuroblastoma touched thousands of people not just locally but across Yorkshire and the whole country. Shirley always said that she wanted the best chance not just for Beau but for all children affected by cancers of this kind. The best tribute we can pay to Beau’s courage is to keep up the pressure for investment in the research that could help prevent other families having to go through such dreadful pain and sadness in the future.” 

Since receiving the news that cancer had progressed so far that no further treatment was possible, Shirley pledged to help Beau live her ‘best life’. One of her six-year old kid’s dreams was to have her own YouTube channel and Shirley has asked everyone to “make Beau’s number 1 dream come true, whilst sharing her adventures.

Let’s make Beau a YouTube superstar.

Gail Jackson, Chief Executive of Solving Kids cancer UK, said: “Beau’s legacy is built upon values that Beau and her family have inspired us all with throughout their cancer journey and fundraising campaign.

"It is these values that SKC UK are committed to honouring - as Beau’s legacy, to ensure that we manage the funds so carefully donated by Beau’s supporters in the best way, to enable us to support as many children as we can.”