HIS unshakeable courage and beaming smile endeared Jake Spicer to many people before he lost his battle with cancer in July.

More than 500 friends and family from his home neighbourhood of Blackbird Leys celebrated the life of the 15-year-old on Saturday with a charity football tournament.

His mother, Lesley Spicer, of Shepherds Hill, said the event, which raised more than £1,000, was a “wonderful tribute to a beautiful boy.”

Speaking publicly for the first time since his death on July 8, Mrs Spicer said: “It was such a special day.

“Jake would have absolutely loved it. It was his type of day. But we know he was up there somewhere, looking down on all of us.

“The weather was beautiful as well, so everything was perfect.”

Eleven five-a-side teams battled it out for the title at the Oxford Academy in Littlemore. The day was organised by Jake’s brother Aaron, 21.

People from Blackbird Leys headed along to pay their respects, and enjoyed a barbecue, drinks and a tombola.

Mrs Spicer said: “It means so much to se all these people. It shows how popular Jake was.

“His death has left a real hole – he was my everything. I miss him so much, and the hurt never really goes away.

“But it’s days like these, when you see what he meant to so many people, that you feel you can smile again.”

About £750 of the money raised will go towards a new bench in Jake’s memory at Wolvercote Cemetery, where he is buried.

The rest will be given to Helen and Douglas House hospice, East Oxford, where Jake was cared for before he died.

Mrs Spicer said: “A bench will be a lovely memorial for Jake and I am so happy we have reached our target.

“But we also wanted to give money to Helen and Douglas House, because it is a fantastic place. They were so lovely and helpful to all of us, and treated Jake like he was a prince. We want to say thank you.”

Jake, a pupil at St Gregory the Great School, East Oxford, suffered from a rare form of bone cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma. After he was diagnosed, he threw himself into charity work, raising thousands of pounds.

He was named a Cancer Research UK Little Star in December 2007.