Joy as tumour scans are clear for Tom, 11

An 11-year-old boy who flew to America for pioneering treatment to fight a rare form of cancer is celebrating after scans showed his tumour has gone.

Tom Blakemore, of Halesowen, battled the inoperable growth by undergoing hours of gruelling treatment in Florida.

Scans have come back clear after he has been in remission for nearly a year.

The youngster, of Hillcrest Avenue, is now looking forward to starting at Halesowen's Windsor High in September, after catching up on his schoolwork despite missing months of lessons.

He is also playing football regularly again for the Brierley Hill Bullets and even went for a ride in a Ferrari at Silverstone at a charity event. Tom said: "It's been hard but I'm enjoying being back with my friends and going to school."

His father Simon, a self-employed scaffolder, said: "He is doing so well and the scans have come back clear so far apart from a bit of scar tissue. He is really back up and running now and life is getting back to normal.

"Not only has he got back to his original level with schoolwork, he's even improved his grades now. He has worked so hard."

Tom was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in January last year after suffering from headaches and dizziness. Doctors found the tumour behind Tom's face, where the skull meets the spine. Because of the unusual position of the tumour, he needed an intense and accurate form of treatment.

The NHS paid for Tom and his parents to travel to a specialist clinic in Jacksonville, Florida for pioneering Proton Therapy.

His story is now being used as part of a campaign for a bid for a proton unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which would cost between £75million to £100m.

He will continue having scans every three months for the next year - and check-ups for five years – to make sure the tumour does not return