A GRIEVING mother who lost her two-year-old girl to a brain tumour has shared her tragic story in order to highlight the “chronic” underfunding of research into the disease.

Lola de la Motte-Rice had been a happy, healthy little girl and was looking forward to her approaching third birthday.

However, she suddenly fell ill and parents Michelle and John took the youngster to see her GP.

Her problem was initially dismissed as a stomach bug and there appeared to be no cause for concern.

But the youngster from Shoreham suffered a seizure and had to be rushed to hospital.

There it was discovered Lola had a large brain tumour covering the right side of her brain.

Despite emergency surgery the two-year-old died the next morning, four days after she first became ill.

More than ten years on, Mrs de la Motte-Rice is backing calls from a charity to raise awareness of tumours and the importance of more research into the disease.

She is using Brain Tumour Awareness Month in March and urging people to take part in Wear a Hat Day at the end of the month.

The 41-year-old, who has three other children, Ava, 11, Reya, nine and Lila Bleu, six, is determined other families should not have to go through what hers did.

She said: “When I’m laying the table or counting the girls into the car, I still feel that there’s someone missing.

“I don’t think that you get over grief like that.

“Maybe you just get better at hiding it but the feelings are always there.

“We always talk about Lola at home, telling the children that she’s their guardian angel and celebrating her birthday each year.

“We need to create awareness of the magnitude of this devastating disease and we must raise funds to prevent it from destroying lives.

“Research is the only way forward, so this doesn’t keep happening to more parents.”