A brave toddler who is gravely ill with cancer has been targeted by a sick Twitter troll who say the little boy 'deserves to die'. Riley Hoult, who is 23 months old, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma a few months ago, and was forced to undergo gruelling chemotherapy over Christmas. His ordeal has inspired thousands of people - including reality TV star Kim Kardashian - after his mother Sophie set up a social media diary to chronicle his battle with cancer. Ill: Toddler Riley Hoult is battling an aggressive form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma . Inspiration: Riley's mother Sophie has used social media to chronicle his battle with the illness . But now a vile Twitter account called @funny-cancer has stolen Riley's photograph and used it to mock cancer sufferers. The social network has acted quickly to delete the offensive profile - but police are unlikely to take action against the anonymous web troll. Ms Hoult, 20, said she was 'disgusted' to find the account using a photograph of her with a bandage and feeding tube. The profile - which claims to be based in Riley's hometown of Leeds - uses the tagline 'Cancer is funny because people die lol.' Its heartless tweets include: 'People with cancer deserve to die.' Vile: A Twitter troll has used a photograph of Riley to mock cancer sufferers . Treatment: The toddler faces a year of treatment including chemotherapy and surgery . After Ms Hoult contacted West Yorkshire Police about the account, they advised her to get in touch with Twitter, which proceeded to ban the profile. 'I reported it to Twitter that Riley was being harassed,' she said. 'I'm disgusted. I suppose they got access to a picture from the Facebook page. Because it's a picture of Riley I just think it is aimed at Riley. 'I think it's absolutely disgusting. Can you imagine all those families that have had people die of cancer? It's awful, they are sick in the head.' Twitter user Ashley Gilkes wrote online: 'This page is sick. Have reported this to Twitter. Riley is a beautiful brave boy. Cancer is not funny and neither are you.' Ordeal: Riley had to undergo 48 hours of chemotherapy at Christmas after being diagnosed . Support: Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has tweeted about Riley as part of the social media campaign . A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said that the force was unlikely to take any action over the messages. Sending 'grossly offensive' messages online can be a crime under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 - but authorities would have to identify the person behind the account before they were able to prosecute. Riley has drawn the attention of the world thanks to his mother, who set up a page called Riley's Journey to track his battle with the disease. In December, Kim Kardashian tweeted: 'I'm praying for you little man. Be strong. Love you.' At the time of Riley's hospital stay at Christmas, doctors said his treatment would take around a year to complete. He faces months of chemotherapy followed by operations to remove the multiple tumours which have formed around his skull.
Riley Hoult is battling neuroblastoma with chemotherapy and surgery .
His mother Sophie has used social media to chronicle his experiences .
Troll account called @funny-cancer stole his photo to mock the disease .
Twitter has deleted the profile but police are unlikely to take action .
A brave toddler who is gravely ill with cancer has been targeted by a sick Twitter troll who say the little boy 'deserves to die'. Riley Hoult, who is 23 months old, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma a few months ago, and was forced to undergo gruelling chemotherapy over Christmas. His ordeal has inspired thousands of people - including reality TV star Kim Kardashian - after his mother Sophie set up a social media diary to chronicle his battle with cancer. Ill: Toddler Riley Hoult is battling an aggressive form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma . Inspiration: Riley's mother Sophie has used social media to chronicle his battle with the illness . But now a vile Twitter account called @funny-cancer has stolen Riley's photograph and used it to mock cancer sufferers. The social network has acted quickly to delete the offensive profile - but police are unlikely to take action against the anonymous web troll. Ms Hoult, 20, said she was 'disgusted' to find the account using a photograph of her with a bandage and feeding tube. The profile - which claims to be based in Riley's hometown of Leeds - uses the tagline 'Cancer is funny because people die lol.' Its heartless tweets include: 'People with cancer deserve to die.' Vile: A Twitter troll has used a photograph of Riley to mock cancer sufferers . Treatment: The toddler faces a year of treatment including chemotherapy and surgery . After Ms Hoult contacted West Yorkshire Police about the account, they advised her to get in touch with Twitter, which proceeded to ban the profile. 'I reported it to Twitter that Riley was being harassed,' she said. 'I'm disgusted. I suppose they got access to a picture from the Facebook page. Because it's a picture of Riley I just think it is aimed at Riley. 'I think it's absolutely disgusting. Can you imagine all those families that have had people die of cancer? It's awful, they are sick in the head.' Twitter user Ashley Gilkes wrote online: 'This page is sick. Have reported this to Twitter. Riley is a beautiful brave boy. Cancer is not funny and neither are you.' Ordeal: Riley had to undergo 48 hours of chemotherapy at Christmas after being diagnosed . Support: Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has tweeted about Riley as part of the social media campaign . A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said that the force was unlikely to take any action over the messages. Sending 'grossly offensive' messages online can be a crime under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 - but authorities would have to identify the person behind the account before they were able to prosecute. Riley has drawn the attention of the world thanks to his mother, who set up a page called Riley's Journey to track his battle with the disease. In December, Kim Kardashian tweeted: 'I'm praying for you little man. Be strong. Love you.' At the time of Riley's hospital stay at Christmas, doctors said his treatment would take around a year to complete. He faces months of chemotherapy followed by operations to remove the multiple tumours which have formed around his skull.
his battle with cancer. Ill: Toddler Riley Hoult Riley's mother Sophie has used social media to vile Twitter account called @funny-cancer has quickly to delete the offensive profile - but police are unlikely to take action against the including chemotherapy and surgery . After Ms