Ashley Cain’s daughter dies following illness with rare form of leukaemia

Cain's young daughter was diagnosed at just eight weeks old.

Former footballer and Ex On The Beach star Ashley Cain's eight-month-old daughter has died after suffering from an aggressive form of leukaemia.

Azaylia Diamond Cain was diagnosed with the rare cancer when she was only eight weeks old, with a subsequent fundraiser to try and save her life reaching more than £1.5 million.

Cain announced Azaylia’s passing with an image on Instagram writing:

"Rest In Paradise Princess. I will always hold you in my heart until I can hold you again in heaven."

Similarly, Azaylia's mother Safiyya Vorajee posted a picture of her cradling her daughter, writing:

You are my angel, my heartbeat, my soul.

"RIP my precious baby, you will always be with me like a handprint on my heart."

Azaylia had recently undergone a successful bone marrow transplant in Singapore, but the leukaemia rapidly multiplied afterwards and she went into a full relapse.

Cain had been fundraising for his daughter to receive treatment in Singapore, as well as the couple making a plea last November for people to register as stem cell donors following news that his daughter needed a transplant.

The call-out led to 41,000 people applying to be stem cell donors within 48 hours, while celebrity donors to the fundraiser including reality TV stars Molly-Mae Hague and Maura Higgins, as well as footballers Barry Bannan, Harrison Reed and Robert Snodgrass.

Cain had previously told how his daughter "shows us all everyday how much she loves life and wants to be here". He previously described spending the first seven months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer.

And Vorajee recently said she was feeling "heartache more and more" as "nurses woke me up this morning for a home visit and told me to enjoy the weekend as they now think her body is slowly shutting down..."

"I'm so proud of how strong you are Azaylia," she wrote.

"Azaylia you're my inspiration and my hero mummy loves you."

Additional reporting by PA.