FORMER Tranmere and England star Gary Stevens' son Jack has died following a courageous battle with leukaemia.

Gary, who also played for Everton and Rangers, had revealed last year that four-year-old Jack, was diagnosed with Juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare form of blood cancer that affects young children.

Jack had been responding well to treatment but he was forced to restart chemotherapy with doctors indicating he desperately needed a stem cell donor.

In September, Gary, 58, spoke to Everton's website about Jack's prognosis.

“As you can imagine, this is the worst possible news for all of us,” said Gary, who lived in Bromborough for many years until he moved to Australia in 2011.

“He was doing so well, and the search is back on for a suitable stem cell donor."

The Goodison Park club had appealed for donors to come forward in an effort to help their former player who played over 200 times for the Toffees.

Everton announced the news of Jack's death on their Twitter page with a picture of Gary and Jack.

The club wrote: "Everyone at Everton is deeply saddened to learn that Gary Stevens’ four-year-old son, Jack, has passed away following his courageous battle with leukaemia.

"Our thoughts are with Gary and his family at this incredibly sad time."

Tranmere also joined the tributes on Twitter.

They wrote: "The thoughts of everyone at Tranmere Rovers are with Gary Stevens and his family at this sad time."

Gary signed for Rovers inn September 1994 for a fee of £350,000. He featured regularly at right back for the Prenton Park club over the next four seasons, making 127 league appearances and helping them qualify for the Championship playoffs before managing three successive mid table finishes. He retired from playing at the end of the 1997–98 season.

He also played for England winning a total of 46 appearances, and playing at the World Cup in both 1986 and 1990.