The Twitter profile of 12-year-old cancer patient Vanessa Riddle went down after One Direction star Louis Tomlinson gave her a heartwarming dedication.

The singer tweeted "Lots of Love @vanessariddle" to Riddle  - prompting thousands of curious One Direction fans to click on her page.

The brave girl - from Ayrshire, Scotland - got 5000 new followers from the tweet once her page came back, meaning that her fundraising appeals were opened up to a much wider audience.

An administrator for the Vanessa's Journey Facebook page said: "They actually thought the site was under attack, such was the sudden surge of traffic. It also got Vanessa 5000 more Twitter followers."

Riddle's dad meanwhile said that his daughter was pretty chuffed with the dedication, saying: "Vanessa was playing it cool when Louis tweeted her but I think she was secretly very happy."