A starstruck young pop fan met boyband One Direction as a treat for her bravery while being treated for a rare illness.

Freya Bojko, eight, thought she was being taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital when her family drove her to London.

But the King’s Ford Junior School pupil was instead whisked to Wembley Stadium, where she met her heroes before their sellout concert.

Freya’s mum, Carrie Bojko, of Boadicea Way, Colchester, said: "It was amazing and she was absolutely over the moon."

Full story in today's Gazette