THE family of a Radcliffe youngster who lost his battle with leukaemia last month are hoping to create a lasting legacy for him by naming a plane in his honour.

Kaden Kennedy, aged five, died on October 2 following an 18-month fight with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Parents Tom Kennedy and Tasha Bell are now spreading the word about their son's story after entering a Thomson Airways competition.

As well as having Kaden's name emblazoned on a new 787 Dreamliner, winning the contest would also give them £2,500 in holiday vouchers, which they plan to auction off to help set up a charity to raise awareness of the disease's warning signs.

Tom, aged 34, said: "He was the perfect son. I know it’s a cliché but he always had a smile on his face. Everybody who met him absolutely loved him. He was such a happy-go-lucky child.

"I want this to be a really positive campaign, not a sad one. We’re trying to do something really good in Kaden’s name.

"If we win then the plane will be named after him but we also get a holiday voucher, which we would auction off and use the proceeds to set up a charity. The aim is to raise awareness of the symptoms because Kaden was diagnosed very late."

More than 7,000 people have already voted to support the campaign after reading his tragic story. Having been first diagnosed in April last year, Kaden went into remission after three courses of chemotherapy that summer.

Kaden, who lived in Hutchinson Way and York Street before moving with his mum to Heywood in January 2014, was well enough to start school in January this year, but the family were given the sad news in March that he had relapsed.

Despite him undergoing a gruelling bone marrow transplant after finding a donor from Germany, Kaden's family were told in September that he did not have long to live.

He died at home last month, asleep in his mum's arms, and his parents are now intent on using Kaden's inspiring attitude in the face of adversity to help others.

Tom added: "We first got worried when we were on holiday and noticed some bruises on his legs. We took him to the doctors when they got bad, but they didn’t think it was anything unusual for a young boy to have bruised legs. It was only when we had to take him to hospital that he was diagnosed.

"Families need to know how to recognise the warning signs and take them seriously.

"Whenever he was in hospital, Kaden took it all in his stride, like it was just another day to him, while we were in bits. He got to be a little celebrity on the ward and he loved going around and visiting his friends there whenever he was in for treatment.

"People would say it was always an absolute pleasure to see him. He was a star."

To vote for Kaden in the Name Our Plane competition before Monday (November 16): visit nameourplane.com/name/kaden-kennedy