Little Nicole loses her brave battle

At ten years old, Nicole died on December 21 after a life of battling illnesses twinned with cerebral palsy that never seemed to get her down.

Nicole's mum, Tracy, of Ticehurst Avenue, spoke openly a year ago about the difficulty of life for herself and her daughter since her premature birth at 24 weeks, weighing just 1 lb 5 oz.

Communicating only with a blink for yes, fitting, being fed through a tube in her stomach all amounted to a life not worth living, Tracy told viewers of Kilroy last January.

The tragic loss, caused by an acute bout of viral bronchitis and pneumonia of her fragile lungs, was transferred into a celebration of her life yesterday.

Nicole's ability to laugh her way through operation after operation is something Tracy could never get over. "Nothing got her down. She was always smiling and she had come through fighting fit so many times anything seemed possible for her."

Her funeral at Eastbourne crematorium was followed by a party at St Michael's Church Hall to celebrate her ten years.