By Hayley Robinson

The parents of a sick tot are preparing to spend Christmas at his bedside at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Angela and Stephen Quadling and their three-old son James want to be close to 11-month-old Ben as he fights leukaemia.

Angela said: "They’ll provide accommodation for me, my husband and James.

"I’m not too worried about spending Christmas there as all of us will be together and that’s what matters.

"Ben loves it there and so does James as there’s lots of other children for him to play with.

"We’ve told Ben, Father Christmas will find him wherever he is. As long as he gets his presents I’m sure it won’t matter."

The London hospital diagnosed Ben with cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells on October 28, after he underwent tests and chest x-rays at Medway Maritime Hospital the previous day.

Just two days before that, he had visited his GP with what was believed to be a chest infection.

Mum Angela recalls the moment she was told the news.

She said: "I didn’t want to accept anything was seriously wrong. I went into denial and thought ‘that happens to other people’s children, not my baby’.

"When I look back now he had bruising that didn’t heal but I didn’t think anything of it because he was crawling."

Ben is coping well with his treatment and his spirits were lifted when football legend David Beckham visited the ward on November 29. Ben received a goodie bag from him and a small football which the star had signed. Boy band Westlife also handed out gifts and sang Christmas songs with the youngsters when they visited the ward last week.

Angela said: "David Beckham was absolutely lovely, a really nice guy. He spent time with every single child there. I’m not a fan of Westlife but they were all very nice."