A family have been left heartbroken following the death of their terminally-ill daughter.

Aurora Pile-Gray, nine, from Westgate-on-Sea, had fought Burkitts Lymphoma for more than 12 months and underwent a bone marrow transplant to try to beat the disease.

But earlier this month, mum Keisha Pile-Gray revealed the devastating news that the procedure did not work.

Posting on Facebook, Ms Pile-Gray revealed today that Aurora passed away yesterday.

She said: "Our hearts are broken.

"Rumour has it that a lot of people have already been discussing our loss, so despite not being ready to admit it to the world, I didn't want to feel as though the world was talking about it without us.

"After 8 days at home, our baby took her last breath shortly before midday yesterday with Ethan and I by her side.

"She went peacefully, and spent the past 8 days surrounded by the love of all of her parents and siblings.

"I could write a million words about how I feel, but none of them would do justice. Grief is completely overwhelming and we're grateful that all of our family and friends have been showering us with support.

"Rest peacefully beautiful girl. 07.07.11-29.06.21"

Aurora was first diagnosed with the fast-spreading cancer in spring last year, after suffering symptoms which were initially dismissed as a viral infection.

After undergoing gruelling rounds of chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden in London she was given the all-clear in September, only for her family to be told it was back two weeks later and more aggressive than ever.

In November, she went into remission, before relapsing in January for a second time.

Consultants discussed possible end-of-life care, but mum Keisha said they were not ready to let her go and Aurora wasn't ready to give up.

Results from scans showed she was in complete remission after being on targeted cancer drug Inotuzumab.

But after a year of intense chemotherapy, Aurora's bone marrow was completely obliterated and a transplant was given as the only option.

When it failed, the family decided to bring Aurora back to their Thanet home, for her to be surrounded by her parents and siblings in familiar surroundings.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet