A two-year-old girl, who died in a caravan fire, was laid to rest today in a tiny Peppa Pig-themed coffin as her mother breaks down while paying tribute to the ‘beautiful’ toddler.
Hundreds of mourners gathered outside St Mary Magdalene Church in Newark to remember Louisiana Brooke Dolan, who died in the incident at a park in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire, on August 23.
The service started with Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy, and also included Goosebumps by Travis Scott – one of her favourite songs.
During a particular moment in the service, Louisiana’s mother, Natasha Broadley, read a poem in memory of her daughter.
Large crowds lined the streets of Newark including many well-wishers who had no connection to the family, the Newark Advertiser reported.
The toddler, from Newark in Nottinghamshire, had been staying at the Sealands Holiday Home Park with her mother and three other children, who survived and were discharged after treatment in hospital, her inquest heard on Friday.
Coroner’s officer Jacqui Foxlow said: “Sadly we were unable to establish a visual identification of the deceased.
“Samples were taken from a family member for DNA profiling.
“These have been compared against samples taken at post-mortem and consequently identity was confirmed.”
Asked by assistant coroner for Lincolnshire, Paul Cooper, to provide a cause of death, Ms Foxlow said: “We have a provisional conclusion as ‘inhalation of the products of combustion which is pending toxicology and histology.”
The court heard the further tests could take up to two and a half months, although a final report is expected in the next few weeks.
Police inquiries are ongoing, the coroner was told, and reports have been requested from a GP, East Midlands Ambulance Service, and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue.
The coroner adjourned the inquest to a date to be fixed.