THE family of former Lancashire Evening Telegraph baby of the year John Mark Riding are keeping their fingers crossed now he has finished his first week of treatment for a brain tumour.

Four-year-old John Mark, formerly of Beech Grove, Darwen, was diagnosed with the rare brain stem glioma just weeks ago, and he started a six-week course of chemotherapy last Monday.

Doctors hope the chemotherapy will slow the growth of the brain tumour, so John Mark's family will be able to take him to America for a pioneering treatment which could ultimately save his life.

Kerry Riding, John Mark's sister, said: "We have all got our fingers crossed. In himself, John Mark is doing well."

Kerry, from Audley, Blackburn, added: "He's only had a week of the treatment, so it's too early to know whether it's helping or not. Everything seems to be going well, but we don't know yet if the tumours affected."

The chemotherapy John Mark is undergoing at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol is a last-ditch attempt to slow the growth of the tumour. John, who is living with his mother, Jacqueline Sanderson, in Cornwall, will still need treatment from a New York specialist who pioneered a drug treatment for the condition. Kerry said: "Everyone's hoping the treatment will help. But the radiation is just a staller, to stop the tumour growing. The doctors only gave it a five per cent chance of success, so we will still probably have to send him to America."

The life-saving treatment in America is estimated to cost around £100,000. John will have to be flown to the New York Children's Hospital, so in a desperate bid to save his life Evening Telegraph readers and friends of the family are pitching in with fund-raising to try and quickly get the much-needed cash together.

Kerry said: "So far we have raised about £2,500. If we don't raise the money, or if he is too sick to travel, the money will be going to a research fund for this type of tumour. To cut the cost I have contacted airlines for concessionary flights, but nobody has been able to help so far."

The appeal will be given a pedal-powered boost over the next few days when four family friends complete a charity bike from Blackburn to Land's End. The riders set off on Saturday, and expect to take around four days.