A Northern Ireland teenager who had cancer has said he knew he would recover, because God "is looking after me".

Josh Martin was diagnosed with aggressive cancer in the abdomen on Christmas Eve last year, after being taken to hospital with suspected appendicitis.

He underwent months of chemotherapy, invasive surgery and long stays in hospital. His parents, pastors at Bangor Elim Church, launched a Facebook page, '#prayforjosh' and his mother said "thousands of people worldwide have joined with us as we prayed for our 14-year-old son".

Josh believes his prayers were answered yesterday when he was told that the cancer was gone.

"I feel better than I did before I had cancer," he told The Belfast Telegraph.

His mother announced on Facebook: "We are incredibly excited to let you know that Joshua's scan results show that he has no tumours and no sign of any cancer growth!"

She said that "it was heart breaking watching him suffer and in such pain" but that their faith ensured they remained steadfast in the belief that "God wanted him well".

Josh told the Belfast Telegraph that he knew God would see him through.

When his parents told him the news, he had just got home from school and was playing on the computer.

"They said they'd been at the hospital, but I wasn't really paying full attention," he said. "But then they said there were no tumours and I didn't have cancer any more."

"When they told me, I was very shocked, but I wasn't really that surprised because I had faith that I would be healthy. I believed that I would get better and I had faith that I would," he said.

He admitted that there were times when he succumbed to fears that he might not survive the aggressive cancer but said that these thoughts only came "for an hour on one or two days".

"But then I realised there is a God and he is looking after me."