Brave Josh - who inspired thousands with his brave battle against cancer - loses his fight for life

Brave five-year-old Josh McCormack who inspired thousands of people through his battle with cancer has tragically lost his fight for life.

Josh, from Whitworth, Rochdale, died 15 months after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.

The youngster’s mum, Nicola, shared her son’s heartbreaking ordeal through Facebook page Josh McCormack Fundraiser, which has more than 8,000 followers.

She broke the terrible news in a devastating post: “At 1.30am this morning, our world ended when Joshua fell into an eternal sleep.

“It wasn’t peaceful....for his last 2 hours of life he was gasping for breath and....fighting to live to the very end. I, personally have never witnessed any thing as horrendous in my whole life.

''After everything that he has been through this was the worst to me....why the suffering? Why not just passing peacefully in his sleep? I will never understand the pure cruelty of it all.”

After his diagnosis in October 2015, Josh underwent a life-or-death operation to remove the tumour.

Nicola and husband Kev were told the odds of him making it through surgery were just 50 / 50.

He pulled through, but the subsequent gruelling course of chemotherapy made him seriously ill and doctors said it could no longer continue.

In September 2016, Josh’s family were told their young son had just months or weeks to live.

Nicola continued to share their ordeal through the Facebook page as Josh’s condition deteriorated, describing his bravery and kindness through his suffering.

Nicola added: “The chapter of our lives with you in it was the most perfect, most beautiful and most privileged of all.

“To say we will miss you would be an understatement. There are no real words for the emotions we feel but I already feel an overwhelming feeling of fear and heartache for an eternal future without you.”