THE latest fund-raising effort from Chorley's Derian House Children's Hospice is certain to tug on the heart strings -- it's the story of a little boy who died of a brain tumour.

Matthew Lodge was five years old when he was diagnosed with the brain stem tumour and died the following year.

But despite his life being cut short so young, parents David and Sue Lodge, from Rimington, near Clitheroe, saw Derian House as vital in easing theirs and Matthew's pain and are now telling his story to spearhead a fund-raising campaign.

Matthew's Story is being told in leaflet form to illustrate exactly what Derian House can do to help parents in similar situations.

In it David and Sue describe their sadness at first visiting the hospice. Despite the dread they felt at first approaching the hospice, they said: "Those doors opened up to us an entirely unexpected world, along with some of the most wonderful memories we have, and gave us the opportunity to live a relatively normal life under what were, for us, totally abnormal circumstances." They describe how shortly after Matthew 's fifth birthday they noticed a slight problem with his balance, and how tests at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital resulted in the shock diagnosis of a brain stem tumour.

David said: "Nothing can describe the ice cold fear that numbed us at being told we were facing the very real prospect that our bright, beautiful little boy was going to die."

The campaign was launched at Derian House, Chancery Road, Astley Village, on August 16, and will involve 25,000 leaflets being posted out. Bryan Jones, manager of the Chorley branch of the Cheshire Building Society, donated £3,000 at the launch to cover printing costs.

Susie Poppitt, fund-raiser for Derian House, said: "Trying to put across how parents feel in circumstances such as David and Sue's is virtually impossible and there are a lot of false perceptions about children's hospices, so we hope Matthew's Story will do both these things."

"The first thing David and Sue picked up when they visited here was a copy of a similar story about a girl called Rache, and it really helped them come to terms with what they had to face.

"They now hope their story will help someone else in the same way, so this is not just about fund-raising."

For a copy of Matthew's Story, or to make a donation to Derian House, call the appeals office on 01257 271271.