A BRAVE girl battling a rare form of cancer has received a helping hand from generous shop workers who raffled off two guitars worth hundreds of pounds in her name.

Staff at Peach Guitars, Colchester, were touched by the plight of Breya Ward, who has been fighting Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer which took over her stomach.

Breya, three, has already undergone surgery and chemotherapy.

She underwent further specialist treatment in the US after donors raised tens of thousands of pounds to pay for the trip.

Breya is now in remission, and it is hoped the vaccine therapy trial which was undertaken in New York will help her to beat the disease completely.

However, about half of stage 4 Neuroblastoma patients relapse within two years, so Breya may still have a fight on her hands.

Support has come from far and wide and when Peach Guitars were made aware of Breya’s cause, they jumped at the chance to offer their help.

They hosted two world-class guitarists, Nick Johnston and Mark Holcomb, and raffled off two their signed guitars.

Ryan Houghton, of Peach Guitars, said staff were delighted with the response.

“In place of tickets we got people to donate directly to the page set up for her,” he said.

“On the night itself, we raised £1,100 and the boss’s wife works for Barclays and they agreed to put in £1,000.

“When Breya was presented to us as an option for fundraising, we really wanted to help.

“A lot of us who work here at the shop are dads ourselves with kids of similar ages.

“It is a heartbreaking situation.”

In a touching show of generosity, the winner of the Johnston guitar immediately returned it to the shop so staff could raffle it off again.

“They explained the last time Nick Johnston came down they bought a guitar, so generously decided to give this one back,” said Ryan.

“We had around 140 people there, it was our most successful event ever.

“Although the draw may have been seeing these wonderful guitarists, the whole vibe throughout was more about wanting to raise money and show support to Breya.

“It was just such a great night.”

The cash raised will be enough to fund Breya’s next two scans as she continues her remission.

Breya is the daughter of Colchester couple Holly Robinson and Ollie Ward, who is a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute regiment.

To donate in support of Breya’s fund, which is supported by the Gazette, visit mydonate.bt.com/events/teambreya.