THE late Bradley Lowery, who won the hearts of millions as he battled with a rare form of cancer, has been given a posthumous award from an online fundraisaing platform.

The six-year-old of Blackhall, east Durham, along with Hartlepool supporter and Sky football presenter Jeff Stelling were among the winners at the JustGiving awards in London. The awards showcased the many people who have used JustGiving to fundraise for good causes this year.

A posthumous Special Recognition Award was presented to the family of Bradley, who died in July following a long illness with neuroblastoma - a rare type of cancer.

Bradley was a fan of Sunderland FC and went on to be the club's mascot and became best friends with his hero, striker Jermain Defoe. Well-wishers raised more than £700,000 through JustGiving to pay for him to be given antibody treatment in New York, but medics then found his cancer had grown and his family was informed his illness was terminal.

JustGiving received a record 31,000 nominations this year – from a man crawling the London Marathon dressed as a Gorilla to a 10-year-old victim of the Manchester Arena attack raising funds for the British Red Cross.

Rhys Goode, spokesperson for JustGiving, said: “This year we’ve broken all our previous records for both nominations and votes for the finalists. From 72,000 nominations, we’ve welcomed 24 finalists and now have nine winners – each and everyone one of them are truly inspirational. Congratulations to them all.”

Jeff Stelling's March for Men saw him walk 15 marathons in 15 days, visiting 40 football clubs and encouraging hundreds of people to join him along the way. It was Jeff's second year of marching to beat prostate cancer. He's raised over £700,000 to help Prostate Cancer UK fight for better diagnosis, better treatment and better support.

Bradley lost his battle in July. But his fight against neuroblastoma left a legacy that will help generations of children suffering from the disease. His story has raised crucial awareness and Gemma and Carl have set up the Bradley Lowery Foundation to help other children fight.