Pillow fight girl remembered

Jessica Smith was a talented ballet dancer

A schoolgirl who died after a pillow fight at a friends' home will be remembered at a memorial service on Thursday.

Jessica Smith, 12, died at her friend's home in Lincoln after falling and hitting her head on a bedstead.

The accident last December ruptured an artery and she suffered massive internal bleeding.

Jessica, from Kirkby in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, underwent major emergency surgery but doctors were unable to save her.

You just have to learn to let it live with you

Diana Smith

Jessica's mother, Diana Smith, said the family found it difficult to cope with their loss.

"Some days are good, some days you just don't want to get up in the morning and there's just this pain living inside you.

"People say 'I've got a broken heart'... and I really know what one is now.

"You just have to learn to let it live with you, and cope with it."

A private memorial service is being held on Thursday afternoon at a church in Kirklington near Southwell.