YOUNG friends of a four-year-old boy who is battling cancer have made a giant cartoon character get well card for him.

The children from Clifton Play Group, which meets at St Mark’s Church Hall, created the large Mickey Mouse cut out for Blaise Etheridge-Clarke.

Blaise is recovering from an emergency operation on a brain tumour, and will have to undergo radiotherapy at the hospital until the end of March.

Family and friends helped raise £14,000 to send Blaise to Disneyland with his parents and three brothers, Christian, Zach and Jerome.

But the gruelling treatment now means he will be unable to make the dream trip, so the playgroup decided to try to lift his spirits with their own Disneyland offering.

Theresa, Blaise’s mother, said: “It’s really lovely that they are still thinking of him.

“He’s recently had a long stay in hospital, but he’s on antibiotics and back at home now. We’re still going over to Leeds every morning for radiotherapy, but hopefully we’ll see the card soon.” Katharine Fisher helps run the playgroup and said the children had put a lot of work into the card.

“We have been sending small cards on a regular basis because Blaise has been too ill to come to us for a while.

“Ruth Phillips, the daughter of one of our assistants, drew the outline, and the children spent about two weeks painting, colouring and using glitter on the design.”

They hope to present the card to Blaise’s parents to remind him they are still thinking of their friend.