Batley and Spen MP leads tributes for little Beau after losing brave battle against cancer

Shirley Hepworth, Beau’s mum, announced that she had died on Sunday, June 4, just short of her seventh birthday.

Kim said: “Beau was a beautiful little girl, with a wonderful smile and a bubbly personality. She coped with the awful effects of her cancer with incredible bravery. Her mum Shirley, sister Redd and grandma June gave her all the love and support in the world and couldn’t have done more for her.

“My heart goes out to them at this unbelievably difficult time.”

Beau had stage four neuroblastoma and a campaign to send the youngster to the United States for a vaccine trial raised almost £650,000. Sadly, however, Beau suffered a relapse and her cancer spread before she could enrol on the trial.

The funds will now be used to help other children through the charity Solving Kids Cancer UK.

Kim added: “Beau’s battle with neuroblastoma touched thousands of people not just locally but across Yorkshire and the whole country. Shirley always said that she wanted the best chance not just for Beau but for all children affected by cancers of this kind.

“The best tribute we can pay to Beau’s courage is to keep up the pressure for investment in the research that could help prevent other families having to go through such dreadful pain and sadness in the future.”

Many members of the public have posted messages of condolence to the family on social media following the sad news.

Sharon Butterworth wrote on the Dewsbury Reporter Facebook page: “Much love to the families and friends of such a beautiful little girl.”

Helen Senior added: “RIP little Beau. Fly high. Much love to her family.”

Debbie Hodges said: “RIP little angel. Condolences to all your family.”

Gail Jackson, chief executive of solving kids cancer UK, said: “Beau’s legacy is built upon values that Beau and her family have inspired us all with throughout their cancer journey and fundraising campaign.

“It is these values that SKC UK are committed to honouring - as Beau’s legacy, to ensure that we manage the funds so carefully donated by Beau’s supporters in the best way, to enable us to support as many children as we can.”

Beau’s fight against the cancer started when she fell ill in December 2020. Local people responded with a wide range of fund-raising events and her case prompted calls for the government to support a UK-led vaccine trial so other families would not need to raise huge sums to pay for potentially life-saving treatments.

Since receiving the news that the cancer had progressed so far that no further treatment was possible, Shirley pledged to help Beau live her ‘best life’ and one of her dreams was to have her own YouTube channel, with her mother asking everyone to “make Beau’s number one dream come true, while sharing her adventures and to make Beau a YouTube superstar.”

The link to her channel can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MS_AlKuOvg&ab_channel=AdventureswithBeau