TODDLER Evie-Mae Crawford, who was born with Down’s Syndrome and now has cancer, has celebrated the end of six months of chemotherapy by meeting pop idols JLS.

Despite battling the disease since October, the two-year-old, from Berinsfield near Wallingford, was beaming on Saturday as she was greeted by the boy band.

She became a VIP for the day along with her parents, Jo and Stuart, both 36, and sisters Chloe, 16, Amber, 13, and Freya four, at the star-studded Crazy Bear Garden Party in Stadhampton, near Abingdon.

Mrs Crawford said: “It was absolutely wonderful. The boys from JLS were so sweet to Evie, touching noses with her and calling out to her and making her all shy.

“We were invited to spend all day at the garden party, enjoying great food and then meeting JLS and Peter Andre. And then, when the bands went on stage, we were invited into the VIP area, so we all enjoyed the concert up-close. It was brilliant.”

Brit Award winners JLS were among acts at the annual event in the hotel’s 80-acre grounds.

Guests paid up to £295 a ticket to watch Peter Andre, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Sister Sledge and Stacey Solomon and raised around £7,000 for this year’s charity, Cancer Research UK.

Evie-Mae and her family were invited as special guests after organisers heard of her plight.

The toddler was born with two holes in her heart and had surgery last October on her cleft palate and grommets in both ears. Just weeks later doctors found she had aggressive acute myeloid leukaemia.

She was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital and has had six months of chemotherapy.

In February, Evie-Mae was named a Little Star by Cancer Research UK, with the charity saying “after everything she has had to face, she has a smile for everyone.”

Her mother, an admin assistant at Oxford Magistrates’ Court before giving up work to look after her daughter, said: “The whole family has been on a rollercoaster ride.

“Evie-Mae’s chemotherapy is now over, but she will need further tests and constant monitoring. But she has coped well and she is more vibrant and healthier than she has ever been.

“Meeting JLS, watching the concert and enjoying the amazing fireworks afterwards was a fantastic treat.”

Jason Hunt, owner of the Crazy Bear Group, said: “We are so pleased that Evie-Mae and her family came to the garden party. And we are proud to be supporting Cancer Research UK, helping to fund life-saving research, which is making a difference in the treatment of cancer.”

JLS – runners-up in ITV’s The X Factor 2008 – have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

On April, they devastated fans by announcing they will split later this year, following a farewell album and arena tour.

cancerresearchuk.org.uk