Meanwhile, English Premier League side Aston Villa said Friday that their captain, Stiliyan Petrov , has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia.

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John Miles, Nutkins' agent, said he had died at his home in Scotland after a "brave" nine-month battle with acute leukaemia.

BBC: Terry Nutkins, TV wildlife presenter, dies aged 66

Two-year-old Charlie Harris-Beard, from Kidderminster, has a terminal form of acute myeloid leukaemia.

BBC: Charlie Harris-Beard

Two-year-old Charlie Harris-Beard, from Kidderminster, had a form of acute myeloid leukaemia.

BBC: Toddler Charlie Harris-Beard dies after leukaemia fight

Researchers writing in the medical journal The Lancet have found that toddlers are 70% more likely to develop acute lymphoblastic leukaemia than they were 20 years ago.

BBC: Clues to massive leukaemia rise

However, none of the six groupings - which included acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, brain tumours and Hodgkin's disease - showed an increasing trend between levels of radiation and rate of disease.

BBC: Radon cancer fears dismissed

"Langerhans cell sarcoma is extremely rare, with only 40-50 reported cases in the literature, and only one other case of it arising from his particular type of leukaemia (acute lymphoblastic), " the spokesperson said.

BBC: Deryn Blackwell by Becky Williams