A fund to send two bereaved boys to live with their aunt in American has closed having raised £35,000.

As school winds down for the summer it means Jack Rayner and Kallum Lynch can look forward to building new memories in Los Angeles.

The brothers’ lives were thrown into turmoil when their mother Jo died of an inherited form of cancer a year ago.

Being cared for by their grandfather Patrick Lynch was only ever a short term option because of his ill health but the process of having them adopted in the US turned out to be complicated and expensive.

To help, staff at Edward Worlledge Primary School launched a fund called Jo’s Last Wish which was widely shared on social media garnering donations from across the world.

Linda Dickeson who has been co-ordinating the fund hailed the final sum as “incredible” and said that everyone at the school along with the boys’ family had been overwhelmed.

She said that it was difficult to thank everyone individually because so many people had given their time and money to make sure Jo’s last wish, that they move to America to be with her sister, came true.

The money will pay the legal fees for the adoption in America and the balance will go towards medical fees and premiums for the boys who both carry the same cancer gene as their mother and grandmother and sister who also died. “Thanks to everyone for making Jo’s last wish come true,” she added.