A TEENAGER’S dream to help young cancer patients and their families has taken a major step forward – five years after her death.

Jessica Robson was just 18 when she died in 2014. The Northumberland teenager suffered from alveolar sarcoma – an extremely rare form of cancer.

Despite her illness, Jessica was determined to help others in her situation, starting a charity from her sickbed.

Now, her dream to build a lodge in the Northumberland countryside for families to use for respite breaks is finally taking shape.

Work on the three-bedroom lodge at Henshaw has now begun in earnest, with the building due to be completed in October.

Jessica’s parents, Trevor and Julie, purchased the land with money from the sale of their house.

Julie spoke of her pride that Jessica’s vision was finally being realised.

She said: “We are so proud of Jess and so pleased that her dream is becoming a reality.

“We have some lovely memories of spending precious time together – at a caravan on the coast – where we could try to forget about hospitals and treatment.

“That inspired Jess and has been the major driving force of all our fund-raising efforts.

“We would like to thank everybody who has donated money to help us fulfil her dream.”

The Robsons have also raised money for the scheme through their charity, Jessica’s Sarcoma Awareness.

Set up by Jessica prior to her death, the charity has now raised more than £160,000.

The Robsons have also been supported by a number of consultants who have provided their expertise, often without charge.

They are Pegasus Group, Sadler Brown Architecture, MDesign, Biodiverse Consulting, Absolute Civic Engineering, WYG, GSM and Elliott Consulting.