A father whose daughter survived cancer will be made Ambassador of the Year for Cancer Research UK as a reward for his charity efforts.

Neil Ranasinghe, whose 11-year-old daughter Anne has been successfully treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, showed exceptional dedication to the charity to win the accolade.

He is the only person in the UK to be selected as Ambassador of the Year.

His daughter Anne was diagnosed with cancer in January 2004, at just three years old. She spent two-and-a-half years undergoing chemotherapy to fight the disease.

The award will be given to Mr Ranasinghe, who lives in Grange Park, as part of the annual Flame of Hope Awards, which celebrate people who have made a difference to the charity in a variety of ways.

Mr Ranasinghe, who is a technical author, used his contacts to encourage families to nominate their children for the annual Little Star awards, which celebrates their courage in coping with cancer.

On top of this, him and Anne stepped out of their comfort zone to speak alongside singer Ronan Keating and Cancer Research UK’s chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar at the charity’s Emeralds and Ivy ball in 2010.

He also met with Enfield, Southgate MP, David Burrowes, to introduce him to Cancer Research UK’s campaign for the plain packaging for tobacco products.

He said: “Anne and I are very honoured to be receiving the Flame of Hope award.

“After Anne’s successful treatment for leukaemia, which Cancer Research UK had a massive hand in, we both feel it is vital to help the charity help families that are facing or going through treatment.

“It’s also so important to make more people aware of the early signs of cancer and the available treatments which are getting better all the time.

Cancer Research UK has done so much and we want to help them do even more.”

Mr Ranasinghe, who will receive his award on Wednesday, June 27, will start working with other ambassadors to lobby Parliament to highlight the importance of the plain packaging of tobacco campaign.