A NEW charity in memory of Oscar Hughes has raised £120,000 - and has now been named after the tragic York schoolboy.

Marie and Ian Hughes, of Dunnington, want to help other children who are suffering from a brain tumour like the one which killed their son last year.

They have launched OSCAR’s (Ongoing Support, Care And Research) Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity, to fund research into the illness.

Oscar originally fell ill in February 2013 but responded well to treatment until he suffered a sudden relapse early last year.

A fundraising campaign was launched last April to pay for him to take part in promising research and clinical trials abroad, which raised tens of thousands of pounds in a matter of days, but then the relapse proved too aggressive to treat and he died in May.

His parents said that in the last 30 years, there had been only one new drug produced for childhood cancers and, at the moment, less than one per cent of the Government's cancer research budget was devoted to brain tumours.

"Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer in people under the age of 40, so we feel there is a huge void that needs filling," they said.

The couple revealed that as well as seeking a cure, they also hoped to help scientists find less devastating forms of treatment than the ones given to Oscar, and said they would work closely with other charities and co-fund projects with The Brain Tumour charity.

They said December had obviously been a tough month for the family, but the charity was giving them something to focus on and ensure that Oscar’s legacy lived on.

"The support from our network has been nothing short of phenomenal, and we are encouraged by the amount of people who continue to raise money and awareness for Oscar’s charity," they added.