THE GRANDMOTHER of a young girl with cancer says she has been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers in Barry who have supported her cause.

Five-year-old Ellie-May Haggard was diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer in November 2016, after displaying symptoms for up to six months prior. Since her diagnosis however, Ellie-May's treatment appears to have been immensely successful and her family hope that she will receive the all-clear in either August or September.

Ellie-May's mother, Kristy Conlan, and her grandmother, Lynne Baldock, both praised the support they have received from Welsh children's cancer charity Latch, as well as the staff at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for the level of care she has received.

But the highest level of gratitude was reserved for the people of Barry - many of whom were unknown to Ms Conlan or Mrs Baldock previously - for the time and efforts they have dedicated to helping Ellie-May.

"Strangers have absolutely blown me away with their generosity," said Mrs Baldock.

"A lot of people run Barry town down, but I speak as I find.

"St Helen's School raised nearly £2,000 - that's unheard of. People have done car boots and donated every penny they made. People we've never met.

"There's a fundraiser on July 22 at Barry Leisure Centre to help raise money to send Ellie to Disneyland. Another stranger - never met them.

"The lady who made her birthday cake, Jane Price, said she wanted to do a teacake party for her to raise money to have her bedroom decorated.

"The kindness people have shown has been unbelievable. It's just been a rollercoaster of emotions. Every time somebody has done something for Ellie it's had me in tears."

Mrs Baldock also thanked regulars at the Glenbrook Inn in Barry, who she said despite having little to spare themselves, were more than willing to give everything they could to support Ellie-May.

"To celebrate the end of Ellie's treatment, we had the party down at the Glenbrook. There were bouncy castles, face-painting, food - and it was all free for the children.

"But the Glenbrook regulars, even though they've never had much themselves, they all put in that pot. We raised £559.

"That's real people doing that. It's easy to give money when you've got money, but when you've never had much, that's genuine kindness."

Ellie-May recently received an innovative form of radiotherapy, known as brachytherapy, to treat the disease and will receive her scan results next month.

But after having to wait months for a correct diagnosis for her granddaughter, Mrs Baldock issued a message to parents and grandparents everywhere urging them to persevere with medical staff to identify conditions appropriately.

"Parents need to look out for things and go with your gut instinct," she said.

"I just felt like nobody went the extra mile to find out what was wrong with Ellie from the start."

With Ellie-May's condition now vastly improved however, her family are hopeful that this experience can soon be behind them.

To support Ellie-May's cause, you can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jordan-harrison.

The fundraiser is being held at Barry Leisure Centre on July 22 between 2.15pm and 4:15pm, with all money raised going towards Ellie-May's trip to Disneyland.