Bradley, the football-mad six-year-old who died from a rare form of cancer in July, was honoured with the award for his "outstanding achievement in the face of adversity".

The Sunderland fan captured the hearts of the nation with his positive attitude and cheery smile despite his battle with neuroblastoma.

And last night at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, his parents Gemma and Carl gave an emotional speech thanking the public for “helping them get out of bed” after Bradley’s death.

The couple were given a standing ovation by Liverpool's Echo Arena crowd as they were presented with the prize by England manager Gareth Southgate and striker Harry Kane.

Mum Gemma said. “Wow. I am slightly overwhelmed, but absolutely honoured to receive this on behalf of Bradley.

"The nation took him into their hearts and he raised so much awareness for childhood cancer.

"I am so proud of him. We want to continue the good work he has done. We treasure those special memories every single day."

The young Sunderland fan and club mascot was "best mates" with the side's former striker Jermain Defoe, who not able to attend the ceremony last night but sent his love to the family.

And he had every young football fan’s dream came true in March when he lead out England as a mascot at Wembley Stadium before a World Cup qualifier where Defoe scored in a 2-0 win over Lithuania.

He was then given honorary 41st place in the racecard for the Grand National at Aintree in April.

Mum Gemma joked that Sunderland did their part to mark the special presentation after winning their first home game for a year on Saturday, beating Fulham 1-0.

She said: ”Bradley would have been so made up about that - I don't think he ever saw them win.”

The award was introduced in 1999 in memory of BBC Sport journalist and presenter Helen Rollason MBE, who lost her battle with cancer that year aged 43.

Previous winners include Sir Frank Williams and Jane Tomlinson.

His parents will now continue to work with the foundation they set up in Bradley's name, which hopes to support families in similar situations.

Gemma said: "We originally thought we would limit it to cancer but we got money and support from all parts of the country and from all cultures, so we don't want to limit it - we want it to be open all under-18s with a serious illness.

"We want our grants to be incentives - if you raise £10,000, we'll give you £10,000 - but we also want to share our experiences. 

“When we started, we didn't know anything about fund-raising or social media."