The parents of a cancer sufferer are raising £8,000 for a family holiday to Florida.

Doctors at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital said there is little they can do for Rebecca Taylor, 12, who has had leukaemia for six years.

Now her parents, Julie and Robert, want to take their children, including Lewis, 11, Connie, nine, Connor, eight and Reece, six, to Florida, where they can be with their sister without worrying about her illness.

They organised a black tie dance and auction at the Kings Arms Hotel, Woodstock, to boost funds for the trip.

Mrs Taylor, 36, of Herschel Crescent, Littlemore, Oxford, said: "The odds are stacked against Rebecca and the doctors can't do much more for her. If we thought for one moment a bone marrow transplant would help her then we would definitely go for it, but we know it would probably make her worse.

"We now have a chance to make some happy memories together. At the end of the day I have got a lifetime with my other children and if all they've got to look forward to is a two-week holiday it's a small price to pay."

Rebecca, a pupil at Lawn Upton Middle School, Littlemore, also has Down's Syndrome and is diabetic.

She spends much of her time at the John Radcliffe's children's cancer ward having chemotherapy and blood transfusions.

The family has chosen to go to Florida after a similar trip five years ago, paid for by the Make a Wish Foundation.

Mrs Taylor said: "People have been so kind and rallied round to help raise the money it's been overwhelming."