A LITTLE girl with a big heart is getting ready to race for life in memory of the grandmother she wishes she could have met.

Anna Bertram, of Wigginton, York, will put on her running kit with mum, Jane, to tackle the three miles of this summer's Race For Life, in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The eight year-old is running for her grandma Wendy Kilner, who beat cancer two times before losing her final battle with the disease when Anna's mum was only 21.

Anna said: "I am doing Race For Life with my mum because my Grandma Wendy died of cancer when she was 43. I never saw my grandma and just wish that I could have.

"I am fit because I go swimming and dancing, but three miles is a long way for me. I had a practice last week and my legs ached a lot, but I will keep on going because I am doing this for my Grandma Wendy."

Mum Jane said: "It was all Anna's idea. We had some post through the door about the race and when she saw it she said to me I'm going to do that for Grandma Wendy.

"She's got a very kind heart for such a small person.

"It makes me sad that Anna was never able to meet her grandma, but we talk about her a lot and I know that my mum would have been very proud of her grand-daughter.

"She had cancer of the oesophagus and all the way through it she was fantastic. She stayed so positive and she actually beat it two times before it got her the third time."