THE grandparents of a three-year-old boy have paid tribute to the good humour with which he coped with a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy following the diagnosis of a brain tumour.

THE grandparents of a three-year-old boy have paid tribute to the good humour with which he coped with a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy following the diagnosis of a brain tumour.

Charlie Buss died peacefully surrounded by his family in the early hours of Easter Monday, which was also his elder brother George's fifth birthday.

Charlie's grandmother, Pat Crouch, 61, of Bradfield Avenue, Hadleigh, had travelled to her youngest daughter Jane's home at Ashford, Kent, to be with the family as it became clear that Charlie did not have much longer to live. Ill health prevented his grandfather, David, 66, from making the journey.

Mrs Crouch described how, following an operation to remove the tumour after it was discovered a year ago, his doctors took the precaution of prescribing chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a bid to prevent it from returning.

She said: "He was a lovely little boy. When he was going to the Royal Marsden in London five days a week for eight weeks he would get up at six in the morning, put on his little back pack and wait by the door. He just seemed to take it all in his stride."

By Christmas it seemed that Charlie might be on the road to recovery but barely two weeks later it was clear to his parents, Paul and Jane, that Charlie was becoming ill again.

A scan revealed that the tumour was back and this time could not be operated on.