Brave Lancaster boy dies, aged six

A little boy who bravely battled a rare terminal illness and helped raise more than £140,000 for charity has died, aged six.

Ryan Stanford passed away peacefully in his sleep after contracting pneumonia.

Ryan, from Central Avenue, Lancaster, suffered from Alper’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder which affects both the brain and the liver. Tributes have been pouring in since Ryan’s death at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on Tuesday morning.

Samantha Kenyon wrote on Facebook: “Goodnight god bless little man. Fly with the angels xxx.”

Ryan Stanford, centre, with his mum and dad Anne and Dave, sisters Megan and Jessica and brother Luke, taken Christmas 2014.

Ryan’s mum Anne posted a message on the family’s Facebook fundraising page for ‘The Ryan Stanford Appeal’ saying: “Our hearts are broken, our world shattered.

“But if there is one thing we can learn from Ryan, it is to be strong. Find strength and courage we didn’t know we had. “He will leave a legacy of lives he has touched, changed and transformed.

“We are so forever blessed that Ryan was mine and Dave’s, we just wish it could have been for longer.”

Ryan was taken into the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on Sunday after suffering a decrease in oxygen concentration in his blood.

He returned to the hospital on Monday, when a chest x-ray confirmed he had pneumonia.

Ryan died in hospital at 5.30am on Tuesday.

Anne, 33, said: “It was completely unexpected. We were due to fly to Cyprus on Sunday for two weeks.

“There was no indication that this would happen. It has come as a massive shock.

“We are just grateful that it was peaceful. If he had suffered liver failure it would have been far worse and more painful for him.

“No time is ever a good time but we are grateful in a lot of respects as to how it happened.

“It’s all we could wish for really.”

Ryan was diagnosed with Alper’s Syndrome in 2009 when he was just a year old.

It causes progressive loss of developmental milestones and severe epilepsy.