Harvey, 5, is cleared of cancer by proton treatment

Harvey Thompson from York travelled to the United States for the pioneering treatment which is unavailable in the UK.

The youngster underwent a 13-hour lifesaving treatment operation to remove the final part of the tumour from his brain stem at a clinic in Oklahoma.

Now his delighted family have revealed that a recent scan has given him the all-clear, giving more hope to the Kings, who have successfully fought for their son to be treated at a clinic in Prague, in the Czech Republic.

Harvey’s parents Dave and Kerrie Thompson have told how they are over the moon at the treatment’s success.

Mr Thompson said: “He is doing really well.

“The first scan came back inconclusive so they scanned him again and we got the results saying it’s all-clear.

“Part of the tumour is still there but it’s not cancerous.

“He’s doing really well at school. He is a totally different child now he is back from America.”

Harvey was taken to the States by his father and grandfather Frank earlier this year while Mrs Thompson stayed at home to look after his two-year-old sister Savannah.

The family were devastated when Harvey was diagnosed with the tumour and raised money through the charity Kids ‘n’ Cancer - the same fund which supported Ashya King’s family - while in America.

Now £3,200 from the money raised by the family has gone to the Kids ‘n’ Cancer charity which, they added, would be there to help should Harvey relapse.

Mr Thompson, Harvey’s grandfather, said they were incredibly grateful to the charity Kids ‘n’ Cancer for their help and to the local people who helped raise money.

He said: “We want to thank the people that did donate for their generosity and now Harvey is hopefully in the clear.”

Meanwhile, the parents of Ashya King have described the moment they were arrested in Spain after they become the targets of an international manhunt.

Brett and Naghmeh King were held in Spain after they removed their five-year-old son from Southampton General Hospital on August 28 without medical consent.

Mr King told how two police officers arrived at their hotel in Malaga.

The couple were separated from their sick son for several nights before they were finally released after legal wranglings.

They eventually took their son to Prague to receive the proton beam therapy they were keen for him to receive.

Mr King said his wife cried “Ashya, where is my Ashya?” repeatedly on the first night they spent in prison in Spain.

She said: “I wasn’t crying for myself in prison, I was crying for Ashya. I didn’t want him to be alone in a foreign country not understanding the language.

“I was just praying the nurses would feel sorry for him, be with him, so he wasn’t completely alone.”

Once it was discovered the Kings had fled with Ashya, an international arrest warrant was issued and the parents faced a protracted legal battle to get him to the Proton Therapy Centre (PTC), with a High Court judge only approving the move after they had been released from police custody in Spain.

The PTC has said proton therapy is more effective than radiotherapy as it limits the collateral damage of radiation to other vital organs.

The NHS has since agreed to fund Ashya’s treatment.