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An aspiring teenage model died from cervical cancer after being refused a smear test because doctors said she was too young to get the disease.

Nineteen-year-old Sophie Jones lost her fight for life early on Saturday morning, having been diagnosed in November.

Sophie had suffered for months with severe stomach pains that doctors put down to Crohn's disease, despite her asking for a smear test that could have picked it up.

Medical professionals said Sophie, from Eastham, Wirral, was too young to have contracted the disease, which is extremely rare in women under 25.

But when she was admitted to hospital after her condition worsened they found the cancer, and discovered it had already spread to other parts of her body.

Her family has paid tribute to the ex-South Wirral High School student, who her sister Steph said was going to be sorely missed by all who knew her.

She said: "She was just the life and soul of everything, and just lit the place up. She was always a very calming influence on everyone around her, and she loved being with her friends.

"This should never, ever have happened to her."

She added: "Sophie said she would fight it all the way to the end. She was still in high spirits even on the morning she died."

Several fundraisers had been held to help her family during her illness, and Steph said plans were in place to use some of the money to take Sophie on holiday as a final farewell, but sadly she died before she had the chance.

Now Sophie's family and friends have started a petition to lower the age of cervical screening.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Steph said the family wanted to give girls the option to be tested when they knew something was wrong.

She said: "It's totally wrong that people are getting refused even when they know something isn't right. Everybody knows their own body, and Sophie knew she wasn't well."

The lower age limit for routine testing in England is 25 because the condition is so rare.

No girls under the age of 20 died from the disease between 2009 and 2011 according to Cancer Research UK's most recent statistics, meaning Sophie was one of the youngest ever victims of the disease.

The Sophie's Choice online petition has already collected more than 18,000 signatures since it started on Saturday, and if more than 100,000 people sign it a debate will be started in Parliament on the subject of cervical screening.

Family friend Pamela Keelan, who started the petition on the day Sophie died, said she hoped they could make sure other girls did not suffer the same fate.

She said: "Sophie was told she was too young to possibly have the disease, but by the time they diagnosed her it was too late."

She added: "I've got a mind to take it to Downing Street, to David Cameron, and hopefully it will make a difference."

Click here to access the petition and your name.