Backed by comics, his campaign raised £3.2million

Stephen Sutton, the teenage cancer patient who raised £3.2million with the help of comics such as Jason Manford, has died.

His mother posted on Facebook: 'My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son who passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday 14th May.

'The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey. We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many.'

Within 20 minutes of the announcement, more than 50,000 people had left tributes on Facebook.

Among those paying tribute online was Ricky Gervais, who tweeted that Stephen was 'a true hero & inspiration to us all.'

Stephen, from Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 15 and in 2012 was told it was incurable.

The 19-year-old raised a mammoth sum for the Teenage Cancer Trust after his #stephensstory campaign attracted support from celebrities including Jack Whitehall, Al Murray, Steve Coogan and Bill Bailey.

Manford’s efforts for #Stephensstory included organising a benefit gig at his club in Birmingham, which sold out in four minutes, and doing a huge round of media interviews.

Last night, as Stephen's condition deteriorated, Manford tweeted: 'Thinking of Stephen Sutton and his family right now. Lots of love and positive thoughts.'

To donate to Stephen’s Story, visit his Just Giving page here or donate £5 by texting STEPHEN to 70500.

Published: 14 May 2014