A cancer-stricken little girl from Oswaldtwistle who helped show ‘the true face of cancer’ after being photographed in ‘searing pain’ while battling the disease has died, her family have said.

A harrowing picture of four-year-old Jessica Whelan grimacing in distress as the disease took hold of her body was shared around the world after being posted by her dad Andy on Facebook last month.

And on Sunday morning Andy revealed on Facebook that Jessica had 'finally found peace' after passing away at 7am.

The tragic youngster’s story featured in the Observer after hundreds of well-wishers contacted the family to send their love and support.

Strangers also helped raise £76,000 so Jessica could enjoy her final weeks after she was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma - an extremely malignant and aggressive cancer - in September.

Andy even got a call from Jessica’s idol, One Direction singer Harry Styles, who got in contact to send her a special message.

Jessica shared a final cuddle with her father on Saturday night after being unable to cope with human touch because of the immense pain of the disease in her final days.

After her death, Andy wrote on Facebook: “No longer does she suffer, no longer does she feel the pain of the physical constraints of her body.

“Now my princess has grown her angel wings and has gone up to play with her friends and loved ones. She will now watch down over her little brother and ourselves until one day we are reunited again.

“Last night she finally allowed me to hold her in my arms and we had a big cuddle as I told her how much I loved her.

“I told her again that it was okay for her to close her eyes and go to sleep and I kissed her forehead and her lips numerous times.

“It seems like this is what she needed to finally allow her to find comfort in her passing as within eight hours of this cuddle she finally took her final breath.

“She was a daddy’s girl from the start and even right up to the end.

“I feel like a massive part of me has just been torn away but I am so glad that I could give her that comfort in her final hours. She passed peacefully and calmly with not even a murmur.”

Jessica’s plight appeared in the Observer in October after Andy and his partner Nicki Prendergast decided to stop treatment so that Jessica could try to enjoy a ‘normal’ life in the weeks she has left.

She was given an X-ray at Blackburn Hospital in July 2015 after injuring her shoulder and that was when Andy and Nicki’s horror journey began.

The youngster was initially diagnosed with an infection and inflammation of the bone and prescribed antibiotics but after months with no improvement, the couple were given the devastating news.

An ultrasound scan found a growth around her liver and kidneys.

Andy, along with Jessica’s mum Nicki, 28, said they wanted people to take a long look at ‘the true face of cancer’ when they released the photo.

The picture was taken at a moment before fast-acting morphine had taken effect and it shows Jessica ‘pushing’ her parents away ‘as she rode out her searing pain in solitude’.