THE family of much-loved football mascot Bradley Lowery have vowed to make life easier for those caring for other seriously ill children.

A foundation which will work in memory of the six-year-old Sunderland fan has already received requests for help from the families of poorly children.

Trustees have been chosen and an application has been made to the Charity Commission for the organisation, which will help children in need of medical treatment or equipment that is not available on the NHS.

Bradley, whose funeral was last Friday in his home village of Blackhall, County Durham, captured the hearts of many thousands of people with his remarkable friendship with Premier League and England striker Jermain Defoe.

The little Sunderland fan bravely battled against neuroblastoma, but died earlier this month.

On a post on his Facebook page, family spokesman Lynn Murphy said Bradley's parents Gemma and Carl were having some time out after the painful last few months.

She said: "The journey we have all been on has been overwhelming and we want people to know that without your help, this would have been a lot harder for us.

"So I want to thank each and every one of you for being here with us all, your support makes this a lot easier for us.

"When the foundation is established, we have vowed to help anyone who needs to raise funds for medical treatments or equipment that are not currently available on the NHS.

"We want to use what we have learned in 4 half years (four-and-a-half years) of campaigning to make things easier for other families."