A first-time author was inspired by her horse’s battle with cancer.

Helen White, of Little Totham, owes her debut children’s novel, A Dark Horse, to 16-year-old Laddie.

He was diagnosed with cancer in May 2012 and eventually had to have surgery in April this year.

“I started writing when he was diagnosed,” said Helen, a full-time mum.

“I was obviously very distraught and had this thought that if he had a certain talent, it would have helped things, he could have told me something was wrong.”

She will not give away what the talent is, but A Dark Horse is about how a horse helps save the life of his owner Beth by revealing a unique talent, at the same time putting himself at risk.

Five per cent of the sales will go to Shy Lowen Horse and Pony Sanctuary in Liverpool.

* A Dark Horse is available at ypdbooks.com or Amazon as a paperback (£4.99) or e-book version (£3.60).