A landlady touched by the story of a desperately ill three-year-old girl has raised £10,000 towards potentially life-saving treatment.

Ria James, 26, who owns The Merry Fiddlers Pub in Fiddlers Hamlet, Epping, first discovered Ruby Young’s story when a link to her fundraising page was shared on Facebook.

Toddler, Ruby, began refusing food and wheezing just before her second birthday in June last year.

She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer, and has undergone ten gruelling rounds of chemotherapy.

But she has an 80 per cent chance of relapsing.

Her parents are trying to raise £500,000 to pay for Ruby to take part in a clinical trial in America if her condition deteriorates.

Epping Forest Guardian:

Ruby Young was diagnosed with aggressive childhood cancer, stage 4 high risk Neuroblastoma in 2014.

More than 100 people turned up for the ‘Ruby Red Ball’ at the Epping pub on June 27, which saw residents enjoy champagne, an auction of items such as footballing merchandise and a meal.

Ms James, who despite never having met Ruby claimed she will continue fundraising until she hits her target, said: “It went really, really well.

“We raised around £10,000 and we are still collecting money from the auction.

“I didn’t think we would get half as much as we did so I am really pleased.

“When I saw Ruby’s story online I was really touched.

“I am planning on hosting another ball in the winter and my brother will be hosting an event at the pub in August.

“We won’t stop until we help Ruby hit her target.

“When we first started she was £400,000 short of the half a million target, now there is just £32,000 left to raise.

“It’s like the last hurdle.”

You can follow Ruby's progress or donate to her cause here.