Star Wars fan Daniel Fleetwood dies days after seeing The Force Awakens early

His wife wrote on Facebook: 'Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end'

Daniel Fleetwood, the terminally ill Star Wars fan whose dying wish was to see The Force Awakens, has died, aged 32.

Fleetwood was diagnosed with terminal cancer in July this year, and was only given two months to live.

As it began to look increasingly unlikely he would live to see The Force Awakens on the 18 December, the Star Wars devotee posted a video of himself on YouTube, telling of his love for the sci-fi franchise

The internet - along with actors Mark Hamill, John Boyega and Carrie Fisher - soon picked up on the video and began urging director JJ Abrams, Lucasfilm and Disney to show him a pre-screening.

Thankfully, his wish was soon fulfilled, and an uncut version of the film was shown at his house, with Abrams calling to deliver the good news which his family said meant a lot to him.

“Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end,” wrote Fleetwood’s wife, Ashley, on her Facebook page. “He is now one with God and with the force.

“He passed in his sleep and in peace. He will always be my idol and my hero. Please hug uncle Marc for me and give Lucy lots of kisses. Rest in peace my love.”

On the day of the screening, she had written on the social media platform: "To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniel's final dream was just granted!!!

"Today the wonderful Disney and Lucasfilms made his final dream come true, in the amazing typical Disney way, they really do make dreams come true!"