A BRAVE boy has been hailed an absolute inspiration for the way he has dealt with cancer, twice, in his young life.

Dillon Croud was first diagnosed with the disease when he was aged just two. He had to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy and one of his kidneys removed when a large tumour was discovered.

But last summer his parents were told the cancer had returned.

Consequently Dillon, now seven, needed surgery to remove a tumour from his brain and his chest and further chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The youngster has amazed his parents Sarah and Jonathan with his resiliance.

Sarah, 38, said: “He has been amazing.

“He deals with it all and gets on with it. He’s a true inspiration to us.”

Dillon, a pupil at Barons Court Primary School who has two sisters Florence, four, and Daisy, two, was invited to ropen The Body Shop in High Street, Southend.

The shop has had a refurburbishment and invited Dillon, from Westcliff, down as a representative of their charity of the year the Lennox Children's Cancer Fund.

Sarah added: “The charity have been really supportive with us all. Dillon’s cancer was rare and for it to come back and where it came back was extremely rare. They helped us through that.

“Dillon also helped trial a new high combination dose of chemotherapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital as an inpatient which took it out of him. He finished just recently and we hope it will work.”

Fay Maryson, who works at the shop, said: “We were so pleased to see Dillon well enough to come and open the shop. We’re raising money for the charity all this year.”