A County Fermanagh brother and sister are making the most of their time in lockdown by helping to carry on the fight against cancer – armed with rubber gloves and dusters.

Eloise Singleton and her brother Michael are backing a ‘choresome’ way to fundraise for Cancer Research UK as the charity vows to continue its life-saving work.

Together, they’re rallying people in Fermanagh to clean up and cash in to help prevent the charity from losing out on crucial funding during these unprecedented times, by fundraising at home.

Whether it’s a full spring clean or daring family to dress up in their finery to put out the bins, sponsored chores are just one of the ways people can show their support.

Eloise, who is only nine, has twice had to fight for survival after being diagnosed with two different types of aggressive cancer.

This special little girl touched the hearts of tens of thousands of people when, at the age of four, she sang Let It Go with her Disney hero Elsa, from her hospital bed in a video that went viral on the internet.

It was just three days before her fourth birthday in June 2014 that Eloise was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

She spent the next two years undergoing treatments and surgery to have a tumour removed along with part of the femur in her left leg.

Just as life was starting to get back to normal in January 2017, she was dealt another devastating blow when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Twice that year she was left fighting for her life in intensive care after developing sepsis.

She spent her seventh birthday in July 2017 in a Bristol hospital as she underwent radiation treatment following a life-saving bone marrow transplant..

After everything she has come through, Eloise is a bright little star who loves school, music and singing and who has made her family proud.

Having missed so much school she was delighted to be able to return full-time last year to St. Paul’s Primary in her hometown of Irvinestown.

Her mum Claire said, “Eloise is now in Primary Six and her Primary Five year was her first full year of school, which was a great big milestone to reach.

“She loves reading and singing and is in the school choir. She is also learning to play the violin and the accordion and can also play the ukulele and keyboard.

“She is really positive and doesn’t look back on what she has been through as something awful or terrible.

“She sees herself as special and very lucky as unfortunately a lot of children we met along the way were not so lucky.”

Mum Claire and dad Ryan are so grateful for the treatment that saved Eloise’s life and that is why together they want to do everything they can to ensure families like theirs can have more tomorrows.

“Charities like Cancer Research UK, and the research that they fund, will be hit hard by the current situation and it upsets me to think about what this might mean for people affected by cancer in the years to come”, said dad Ryan.

“We can all play a part, no matter how big or small, in helping to lessen the impact - so I’m proud of the way Eloise and Michael have embraced the fundraising challenge and I hope others will do what they can.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Northern Ireland said: “We are grateful to the Singleton family for their dedication to the cause.

Our supporters are completely redefining the meaning of ‘charity begins at home’. We have been humbled by how they are determined to carry on their fundraising efforts in all sorts of inventive new ways.

Cancer Research UK expects to see its fundraising income decline by up to 25 per cent in the next financial year, as a direct result of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

However, the charity is working hard to ensure that people affected by cancer get the support and information they need.

To get involved visit cruk.org/fundraise.