Sophie, right, with her mum. Picture courtesy of Driffield Times

A local weekly in East Yorkshire landed a world exclusive this week when it broke the story of a little girl struck by ovarian cancer.

The Driffield Times splashed on Wednesday with the touching story of Sophie Fry, who at just eight years old is recovering from an illness which usually affects much older women.

Within 24 hours, the story had touched the hearts of millions as it was followed up by newspapers, television stations and websites around the world.

Now the paper hopes the added publicity will help raise thousands of pounds in aid of the hospital unit which is caring for her.

Sophie was taken to hospital in February with stomach cramps. Her parents thought it was appendicitis or severe constipation but an ultrasound scan revealed she had a tumour.

She had a six-hour operation at St James’s Hospital, Leeds, to remove her left ovary and is now undergoing chemotherapy.

Driffield Times Series editor Dennis Sissons said: “This was a first class story uncovered by a first class team who work hard every week to make sure that our readers are first with all the local news.

“This story deserved to be read by a wider audience and everyone at the Driffield Times wishes Sophie and her family well and hopes that the increased publicity will help them to highlight their fund raising efforts for charity.”