WHETHER it's fund-raising for other seriously-ill children or following her beloved Stoke City, Sophi Webb won't let having a brain tumour stop her doing the things she loves.

With her bubbly personality it's hard to realise that behind the smiles lies a 14-year-old who has seen her life turned upside down.

The Bentilee youngster is the latest to be nominated for an Our Heroes award in the Child of Courage category.

Her mum Lisa, aged 40, of Fulwood Walk, who put her up for the award, said: "I think Sophi is an absolute star.

"She has an illness and could sit and dwell on it, but she chooses to battle for her life."

Sophi was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2007 after feeling unwell for two years experiencing weight loss, feeling sick and being very tired.

She was taken to the doctors after a family member who is a retired nurse noticed problems with her eye.

After being diagnosed, she had surgery at a Nottingham hospital to try and relieve pressure from the cyst growing around the tumour and stop it taking her eyesight. She then endured six weeks of radiotherapy.

Lisa said: "Sophi could have stayed over in Nottingham if she wanted to, but being so bright and bubbly she wanted to come home each day.

"After six weeks she had some more tests and we found the cyst had started to grow back. That was absolutely devastating."

Sophi was admitted back into hospital for an eight-hour operation to put in drain in and today members of her family are keeping their fingers firmly crossed that the cyst does not grow back again.

Sophi suffers from tiredness, has to take a cocktail of medications and make sure she carries a life-saving injection at all times, but her main difficulty is her vision.

Lisa, Sophi's full-time carer, said: "At the moment we just pray the cyst will not flare up again.

"It is life-threatening because it could come back at any time so we just live from day to day."

But thanks to the help of special equipment, season ticket holder Sophi can still lend her support in the stands of the Britannia Stadium.

She has also been the face of a number of campaigns for the Donna Louise Children's Hospice, where Sophi goes for respite care, and the Berry Hill High School and Sports College pupil is on track to achieve the equivalent of a GCSE.

Lisa said: "I'm really proud of Sophi because after everything she has been through she is still achieving.

"She still puts other people before herself and loves joining in with everything."

Sophi, who has met Stoke City players on a number of occasions, said: "I feel dead happy about being nominated for an award and feel like I can do anything now.

"I say that while you are poorly you have to live the dream.

"It has been very hard for me but you really have to fight through it or it takes you."