BRAVE three-year-old Edie Molyneux has been awarded with an honorary 41st place at the Randox Health Grand National.

Last year, Jockey Club Racecourses (JCR) first created the honorary place for five-year-old Bradley Lowery who passed away after battling a rare cancer called neuroblastoma in July 2017.

Working closely with the Bradley Lowery Foundation since his death, JCR became aware of Edie's story through her links with the charity.

This means that Edie has now been awarded her own set of colours and will appear on the Grand National racecard for Saturday, April 14 in a bid to raise awareness of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) - a rare and inoperable brain tumour.

Gemma Lowery, co-founder and chief executive of The Bradley Lowery Foundation, said: "I remember last year like it was yesterday.

"Bradley had an amazing time at the Randox Health Grand National and his Daddy and I have got special memories to treasure for the rest of our lives.

"Aintree helped us to continue to raise crucial awareness by giving Bradley the 41st horse in the Randox Health Grand National and, this year, they are continuing to do that by supporting one of our children and the Bradley Lowery Foundation is helping to raise money for life saving treatment.

"We are very grateful and overwhelmed that Aintree are still supporting us as a charity and would like to thank everyone involved.

"Together we can all make a difference."

It is hoped the place, listed as 'Spider-Ede', will also help raise the necessary £700,000 to cover the cost of Edie's treatment in Mexico.

On the racecard, Edie's red and blue silks will represent the colours of her favourite superhero Spiderman who is also listed as her trainer.

Her age is also listed with her sister Niamh and brother Leonard named as her jockeys for the day.

Also featured are Edie's parents and grandparents; her dad Stephen and mum Ashleigh, alongside her granddad Chris and grandmothers Hazel and Ann.

Her summary reads: "Making her Aintree debut, Edie loves walking in the park, playing with her puppy Ellie and gymnastics.

"But most of all she loves playing with her brother & sister and cuddles with Mummy & Daddy.

"Sure to make an impact, so will be well supported."

Ashleigh said: "On November 30 of last year, our world was crushed - Edie was diagnosed with DIPG, a rare childhood brain tumour which is currently inoperable, untreatable and fatal in the UK.

"We were told by our doctors to go home and make memories with the family - but then we found hope.

"In Mexico, there is pioneering treatment that uses intra-arterial chemotherapy which is having good results and showing good progress.

"We've been in Monterrey, Mexico for three months now, leaving our family and friends behind.

"The most recent MRI scan from early March shows a small amount of shrinkage which is a massive step because we had been previously told that the tumour was stable and was not growing.

"Please support us in any way you can, even if it's just liking and sharing the Spider-Ede page on Facebook and telling people all about the disease."

Edie from Tranmere was diagnosed with DIPG last year and her family set up The Spider-Ede Appeal in an attempt to raise £700,000 for ground-breaking treatment, not available in the NHS.

So far £147,418 has been raised in online and offline donations, however, in order for Edie receive a full course of treatment, more money needs to be raised.

Edie's family and friends in the UK, in conjunction with the Bradley Lowery Foundation, are working on raising the money to help with her treatment.

The fundraising goal of £700,000 will help to cover the cost of the treatment in Mexico, which will include specialised chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

The ultimate aim is to surpass this target, so the Bradley Lowery Foundation can help other children and families affected by the disease in the future.

Edie's father, Stephen Molyneux, added: "Each treatment costs approximately £30,000.

"At the moment, we don't know how many treatments Edie is going to need so we're hoping to raise at least £700,000 to cover the cost.

"Amazingly though, we've already managed to raise £200,000 so far which is a really good start, but there is a long way to go."

North West Regional Director for Jockey Club Racecourses John Baker said: "The whole nation was touched by Bradley Lowery's story and we were honoured to welcome him to Aintree as the first ever 41st runner in the Randox Health Grand National last year.

"Bradley's legacy lives on and we're delighted to announce that Edie Molyneux, who is supported by the Bradley Lowery Foundation and a local Wirral girl, will be the 41st runner in the Randox Health Grand National this year.

"We're delighted to help in any way we can in order to raise awareness and support Edie in her journey."

To donate to The Spider-Ede Appeal visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/thebradleyloweryfoundation/spideredie