A KIND-HEARTED schoolboy has died just five weeks after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

But Christopher Smith's grieving family will tonight fulfill one of his last wishes and raise money to buy toys for children on the ward where he passed away.

Christopher, 16, of Franklin Road, Blackburn, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a cancer which rapidly attacks the blood cells, in November.

He died at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, on Christmas Eve.

The cancer causes the bone marrow to make abnormal white blood cells, which fail to protect the body from infection and cause a patient's condition to deteriorate quickly.

But his family revealed how his chances of survival were cut to just over 20per cent as he was born with a genetic blood defect known as Philadelphia Chromosomes - which means his body did not destroy the defective cells The Witton Park High School Business and Enterprise College pupil's family have insisted they will go ahead with a charity night at the family's local, The Bulls Head, Redlam, from 5pm tonight - something which he had arranged from his hospital bed days before his death.

His devastated mum, Tracy Tomlinson, 35, said, a supermarket manager at Lidl, Accrington, added: "I just feel what has happened to my son is unreal and has happened to somebody else. He was my baby, my first child and I cannot believe he is no longer here."

Christopher was a rap music fanatic with a love of gadgets and all things engineering. His dad, Tony Smith, 45, revealed how he was by his son's bedside when he died.

And Mr Smith, of Burnley Road, Blackburn, revealed that his son had secretly arranged for a relative to buy Christmas presents for his family "who he loved to bits."

"In the time my son, my Christopher, was with us he lived life to the full. I was there when he passed away, when I looked and saw his eyes glazed over, I just knew in my heart he had gone.

"I will forever keep a piece of him, the bag he used for my Christmas present. I work as forklift truck driver and lost my finger in accident at work when I caught my wedding ring on a skip. My son wanted to keep my fingers safe and got me some gloves to keep me warm.

"He got my wife Carol to get presents for all his family. He would do anything for them and loved them to bits. Even in hospital he was thinking about everyone else, he even helped make Christmas cards and decorations for other children on his ward."

He said his family would not abandon Christmas next year and added: "We will celebrate it to the full, that's what Christopher would have wanted. He loved life."

Christopher's auntie, Cindy Rhodes said his rapid deterioration had devastated the whole family, including his brother Adam, 11, and sister Becky, 15.

She said: "I can't believe he is not here, it is so surreal. He was disappointed that he was going to be in hospital at Christmas but looking forward to getting better and going to Florida's Disney World with his family. He seemed to be responding well to chemotherapy and although we knew he would have good and bad days we thought he would improve.

"Christmas will always be hard and we will not be able to have it without turning our thoughts to Christopher. He would do anything for family and was great with children and it was typical that he wanted to organise a fundraising night for other children on his ward. He loved his brother and sister to bits and would always keep an eye on them and check they were where they should be. On Christmas Day, Adam opened his brother's presents and said out loud what he had got. It was his way of saying although you are gone you are still with us. Christopher was such a selfless, kind- hearted lad."

A post mortem is due to be carried out in the next few days and then funeral arrangements will be made.

The charity night will include darts and dominoes contests, a guess how many sweets are in a jar competition, a curry and raffle. All proceeds will go to the Borchardt Ward at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury.