THE appeal in memory of York schoolboy Oscar Hughes has now raised more than £75,000 after another £2,000 was donated by mourners at his funeral last week.

A fundraising campaign was originally launched last month to pay for the Dunnington nine-year-old to take part in promising research and clinical trials abroad, following a relapse in his recovery from a brain tumour.

But the relapse proved too aggressive to treat and he died earlier this month, with the money now set to be used to help fund research into the illness to help other future victims.

Recent donations include £2,005 raised through a raffle and sponsored event at Station House Nursery, which posted a comment on the fundraising website saying: "Oscar was an inspiration to us all and to many around the world, he will touch so many lives with these donations and his legacy will continue to live on."

Strensall Tigers JFC has raised £275 in collections at presentation evenings, a casino evening at Dunnington Sports Club raised £150 and another £181 was raised through a coffee morning and raffle held at Nuffield Health's York Hospital.

A family has also donated £50 'in memory of a tough guy who had a life filled more than most men. So very proud of the legacy he leaves behind in his wake'.

Oscar's parents Ian and Marie have revealed that they spent several days with Oscar at Martin House Hospice, where staff looked after them with kindness. "It gave us some time to reflect on the last month of Oscar's life with us and allow us to share our memories with his brothers, family and friends."

Ian said he and his son Sebastian had also been to Manchester United's final home game, when Oscar's empty seat had been an emotional symbol of the loss they now faced.

He said the club, which had thrown its support behind the campaign before Oscar died, had dedicated the second half of the match to him.

"He would have been very proud of that," he said. "Thank you to the team at MUFC, who have shown us great kindness in the last few weeks."