FRIENDS and family of a Leominster teenager will help make his final wish come true by raising funds for the charity that supported him throughout his cancer battle.

David Demeter, who moved to Leominster from Hungary with his family in 2008, was just 10-years-old when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

He fought the illness bravely but died in July this year aged 15.

Next week, staff and pupils at Earl Mortimer College will transform his former school into a sea of red, white and blue – the colours of Teenage Cancer Trust – in a bid to raise as much money as possible in his memory.

“David desperately wanted to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust – he was really inspired by Stephen Sutton who helped raise £5m for the charity,” said his sister, Petra Demeter, 17.

“He spent a considerable amount of time in the TCT unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital and they were amazing people so he wanted to give something back to them.”

Aged 10, David began battling sickness, high temperature, loss of appetite and an increase in bruising before he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

But after a successful course of chemotherapy, he was in remission.

"After a year he put some weight on and his hair had grown back and we had a really good, happy two years after that," explained his mum, Timi Demeter.

But in September last year, a check-up during David's last chemotherapy session showed the cancer had returned.

The only treatment that doctors thought could help was a bone marrow transplant and a 100 per cent match was found in America.

“This year in March he had the transplant and he was doing very well. He left the high dependency unit after six weeks and it had all gone fine although he was a little more vulnerable and susceptible to infection,” said Mrs Demeter.

David had weekly check-ups in Birmingham at the bone marrow transplant clinic but Mrs Demeter said she just “had a feeling” that something was wrong because her son's platelet count was never high enough.

Then, on July 8 – his sister’s birthday – the family received the devastating news that David had just months to live.

A dream of owning a golden Labrador was fulfilled when David received his puppy Molly, but he died less than a week after returning home from hospital.

“He was so clever and wanted to be a teacher,” said Petra. “He was really polite and even when he was in a bad mood he was always calm and polite with the nurses.”

Next Friday's fundraising day will see students turn out in red, white and blue for non-uniform day, while a coffee morning will be held for staff.

Petra will be selling TCT wristbands and there will also be a cake sale, while a representative from TCT is making a visit to the school to talk to students about the charity and to discuss the signs of cancer.

“We would also like to say thank you to our colleagues at Lynhales Hall Nursing Home, and the night staff at Waverley House for the money they raised for our family,” added Mrs Demeter.

“We lost the battle, but we had amazing support from the nurses, doctors in Birmingham Children's Hospital and Hereford Hospital, especially Dr Velangi and Dr Meyrick.

“A big thank you also to the staff and students at Earl Mortimer College – Mr Bescoby gave David a lot of support during his battle.”