by Simon Tulett

A brave little girl who struggled against cancer for more than four years has tragically lost her fight for life.

Rianna Deol's desperate battle with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia touched the hearts of hundreds as her family and friends launched a desperate bid to find her a bone marrow donor.

And when the pint-sized eight-year-old finally received a long-awaited transplant and then went back to school, they began to hope their little girl might be able to lead a normal life.

But their dreams were shattered when Rianna's condition worsened. She sadly died peacefully in hospital on Monday.

More than 1,000 people in north Kent, including staff at the Messenger, rallied around the youngster, of Lunedale Road, Dartford, when news of her plight spread early in spring 2008.

Rianna was first diagnosed with cancer of the white blood cells at Christmas 2005. She was due to finish her chemotherapy treatment in April 2008, but in February specialists informed the family the illness had returned and that by the following August she would need a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Her family all stepped forward to help save their precious girl, but when a match within the family could not be found, a plea went out to the wider community.

About 200 people turned out at a Gravesend clinic, run by the Anthony Nolan Trust, during that year's Vaisakhi festival, with a further 95 visiting a clinic in Highfield Road, Dartford, and yet more attending subsequent clinics in Erith, Hertfordshire, and Birmingham.

After an anxious wait, the family finally received news that a match had been found from abroad, and their princess underwent a bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in September 2008.

Rianna had been back with her friends in classes at Fleetdown Primary School before she died. The school, in Lunedale Road, held a special memorial assembly for Rianna the next day, Tuesday, and sent letters home to parents informing them of the devastating news and pledging support.

The note, from executive headteacher Garry Ratcliffe, read: "Rianna was a very special little girl with many friends in the school. She was popular with adults and children alike."

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