PEOPLE wanting to support a schoolboy with cancer have been told: "don't wait."

Oscar Saxelby-Lee, 5, has a rare form of leukaemia and is in a race against time to raise money for life-saving treatment following an unsuccessful stem cell transplant.

An appeal to fund the treatment, not currently available on the NHS, has topped more than £155,000 in less than a week.

But his family now say they have a four week window to reach the £500,000 total.

They believe travelling to Singapore for specialist treatment and a possible second stem cell transplant could be their last hope to save his life.

But if the money is not raised within the next month, Oscar may be too weak - both to travel abroad and to undergo the treatment.

Mum Olivia Saxelby, 24, said: "He's had bridging treatment in hospital and he's kept his blood counts up, so far, which is really positive.

"But the disease is growing, so we have to push it quickly before we lose the window of opportunity of him being in the best health he can be, to receive treatment."

Kate Wilcock, headteacher at Pitmaston Primary School, has been campaigning to help the year 1 pupil.

She said: "I spoke to Oscar and his mum yesterday.

"His mum and dad are absolutely heartbroken and very frightened.

"On the phone, I could hear Oscar shouting, 'hello Mrs Wilcock' in the background. He's suffering from the side effects of recent chemotherapy but remains strong and positive.

"But the reality is we have to find this money within this time. We have to have the chance at funding this treatment."

Mrs Wilcock urged anyone planning a fundraising 'Oscar day' - previously advertised as October 11 - to hold their events sooner.

She said: "The message from us is don't wait to have your Oscar day.

"Have it as soon as you can. Organise it now so the funds can be donated to the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, the charity collecting the money for Oscar."

Oscar's family now believe Oscar's best hope is to raise money for CAR-T therapy.

Mrs Wilcock stressed that the treatment was not an experimental trial but the recommended next treatment option - although not currently available in the UK.

Ms Saxelby, from St John's, said she and Oscar's father Jamie Lee had been left "absolutely overwhelmed" by the generosity of friends, family and strangers, as donations have poured in over the past week.

She said: "The support has been incredible.

"We have been bombarded with texts, Facebook messages, social media, all in support of Oscar.

"I just cannot express how much it means to us and Oscar."

She added: "Oscar knows money is coming in to his appeal, he knows people out there are thinking about him."

Ms Saxelby said she firmly believed the CAR-T trial would be "the cure" for Oscar as it had shown good results for patients with B-cell leukaemia.

She added that if successful for Oscar it would also give "major hope" to others coping with the disease.

The brave youngster underwent treatment in May after a donor search saw thousands of people from across the UK queue up for a public event at his school to register as stem-cell donors.

Following the transplant procedure, Oscar was briefly cancer-free, but the T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia returned.

The rare leukaemia is difficult to treat and means he has been in and out of hospital constantly for the past nine months.

Anyone wishing to donate to the appeal should visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/HandinHandforOscar