Little boy who was sent thousands of Christmas cards dies after losing cancer battle

A terminally-ill boy who received thousands of Christmas cards passed away on Sunday after losing his battle with cancer.

Nine-year-old Jacob Thompson was diagnosed with Stage four high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, in 2014.

After finding out he only had a month or so to live, his family decided to celebrate Christmas early.

Jacob, who loved penguins, touched hearts around the world when he appealed from his hospital bed in the US for Christmas cards to make his last holiday special.

Thousands of cards were sent to his bedside at the Maine Medical Centre, Maine, including one from Arnold Schwarzenegger.