A courageous Renfrew toddler who had been battling a rare form of cancer has lost her fight aged just three.

Little Layla Greene passed away in hospital just after 9pm on Saturday night.

A statement posted online by her mother, Louise Cunningham, on Sunday, said: “Last night, at 9.16pm, my beautiful angel closed her eyes for the last time.

“By god, she put up one hell of a fight, but she was just so tired and was her time to be free from pain and now the most beautiful angel in the sky.

“Thank you so much for all the messages.”

As reported last month by our sister title The Gazette, Layla had been battling a rare form of cancer which saw doctors turn to an experimental course of drugs after she suffered a relapse.

In a short, but heartbreaking, post, Louise added on Monday morning: “My beautiful girl. Can’t believe you’re gone. My heart hurts, my arm ache to hold you. Never been so lost in my life. Love you, baby girl.”

She also shared a quote alongside a picture of Layla dressed in costume, complete with fairy wings.

It read: “God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be. So he put his arms around you and whispered, ‘Come to me’.

“Your golden heart stopped beating, your tired hands put to rest.

“God broke our hearts to prove to us, he only takes the best.

“R.I.P Layla.”

Louise also urged loved ones and the wider public to light a candle for her daughter at precisely 9.16pm on Sunday to mark 24 hours since Layla’s passing.

Layla was diagnosed with stage four of an aggressive form of the disease, known as neuroblastoma, in March last year.

She had undergone a stem cell transplant, chemotherapy but, last month, her parents were told her condition had worsened.

Their hopes had been pinned on a new treatment, known as the Beacon trial, on being a success.

Mum Louise had previously told The Gazette: “Doctors are prepared to do everything they can to save Layla and she has been accepted for the Beacon trial.

“She gets two blocks of chemotherapy, which last around 28 days each.

“At the moment, there is no certainty about anything and no mention of time, as we need to see the outcome of the trial drug.”

Despite her illness, Layla and her family still found time to think of others.

After her diagnosis, she became the face of the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity’s Schiehallion Appeal, which set a target of raising £500,000 to support young cancer patients across Scotland.

The aim was to raise enough cash to fund the expansion of a unique clinical trials centre.

Others were being encouraged to rally round Layla by supporting a JustGiving page at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michelle-kelly-186.