COURAGEOUS Joshua Scarlett-Abbott, who died from a rare cancer, was remembered as a "star among stars" at a special service to celebrate his life.

Classmates, teachers and family members all paid tribute to the seven-year-old with poems, memories and songs at St Mary's Church, Westow, near Malton.

His parents, Jonathan and Fiona, of nearby Langton, learned Joshua had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after his life was saved by ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation), a process which gave him a precious extra year of life.

At Joshua's funeral on Monday, the crew of E Flight 202 Squadron at RAF Leconfield, who airlifted him from Scarborough Hospital to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester after the ambulance carrying him broke down, performed a flypast in his honour.

The breakdown incident inspired Jonathan and Fiona to launch a £75,000 appeal for a specialist paediatric ECMO ambulance.

It was standing room only at the remembrance service at St Mary's, where pupils from his primary school each lit a candle in Joshua's memory.

Vicar of St Mary's, the Rev Michael Sinclair, said: "Joshua was a ray of sunshine to his family and friends - he showed great courage."

The collection was shared between Candlelighter's Children's Cancer Charity, Martin House Children's Hospice, and St Mary's Church. To contribute to the appeal, send cheques, made payable to the J Abbott ECMO Appeal, to Carrier House, Main Street, Langton, Malton, York YO17 9QP or telephone 0870 9077101.

Updated: 12:02 Saturday, November 02, 2002