A BRAVE little boy from Bodmin who has battled against cancer has been chosen to launch a national retail store's annual charity appeal.

Five-year-old Matthew Hardy was until recently having treatment for leukaemia and benefited from the care provided by two CLIC Sargent nurses.

Yesterday, Matthew and his mum Liz were at the Truro branch of Tesco to start the company's charity of the year appeal for CLIC Sargent.

The aim is to raise £5 million in the coming 12 months in stores nationwide.

Matthew has undergone years of treatment since he was diagnosed just before his second birthday, and is now well enough to go to school full-time.

His mum Liz Hardy explained why the family had agreed to support the campaign.

"Matthew finished his treatment in December and has been in school every day since January. We had the benefit of two CLIC Sargent nurses, Clare Simpson and Karen Berriman, and they have been absolutely fantastic.

"Every week we would see one of them; they would come to our home or Matthew's school and take blood tests.

"They made a real difference to the treatment Matthew received.

"The nearest hospital is a 40-minute drive away, so it would have been much tougher without them.'' Mrs Hardy said the two nurses had allowed the family to live as normal a life as possible.

"School for Matthew was a bit random before January, when often he would not be well enough to go in, but now he's full-time and loves it – everything is getting back to normal.'' Swimming is now Matthew's favourite hobby.

"He loves swimming, in fact it's quickly taken over our lives.

" He hadn't been able to swim since he was 22 months because of his Hickman Line, but now he can't get enough of it.''

Every day in the UK, 10 children are diagnosed with cancer and treatment can last up to three years. The money raised by Tesco customers and staff will help fund CLIC Sargent's specialist nurses.