Cancer patient, 4, receives 700 birthday cards from around the World

Henry Hallam received heart-warming greetings and messages of support from as far afield as Finland, Dubai, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia.

The stack of cards was so high that it took his family two days to open all of them.

A four-year-old boy with cancer received more than 700 birthday cards after his mother urged well-wishers to help set a new world record.

Henry, from Plymouth, Devon, suffers from neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer.

Strangers have queued up to help after reading about the Hugs for Henry appeal set up by his parents Elsbeth, 29, and Mike, 30.

The couple asked people to help make it the best birthday ever by setting a new record for the number of cards received - and 737 people responded.

Henry has spent the last year at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and was unable to celebrate turning four on August 30 because he was undergoing intensive treatment.
It took Mr and Mrs Hallam, who also have an eight-month-old daughter, Georgina, two days to open all the cards ready for Henry’s party - and more are arriving by the day.
There is no current mark for the number of birthday cards received but the couple have written to Guinness World Records to lodge it as a new category.

Mrs Hallam, an emergency nurse, said: ‘Mike and I have been so touched and overwhelmed by the support we have received from across the country and world.

‘We’ve had cards from Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Tasmania - you name it.

‘Although his birthday was at the end of August, they are still arriving and I expect they will keep coming for months to come.

‘It would be fantastic to set a world record. This past year has been a nightmare, it’s a hideous disease and he’s fought so hard.’
Mrs Hallam said: ‘Our little boy is so wonderful. He has shown so much strength over the past year.

‘It has been incredibly tough. It has been hideous - there really is no other word to describe it.’

Neuroblastoma affects just under 100 children a year in Britain but accounts for a disproportionately high 15 per cent of cancer deaths in children.

It can occur anywhere in the body but it most often hits the adrenal glands.

To donate to the Hugs for Henry campaign, visit www.hugsforhenry.co.uk/donate