Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum, Cheryl, gave her daughter's school friends a heartwarming gift after her death.
The classmates of Olivia were each given a teddy bear which had been left as a tribute to Olivia by mourners following the shooting. To accompany each of the toys, Cheryl Korbel attached a pink ribbon which reads "forever nine" and a photograph of Olivia.
Speaking to the BBC, head teacher Rebecca Wilkinson, of St Margaret Mary's Catholic Junior School, said: "They're extremely special. And it was totally unexpected. She's very selfless." Nine-year-old Olivia was shot dead when a gunman burst into her home in Dovecot in August last year.
Killer Thomas Cashman had been pursuing Joseph Nee and chased him into Cheryl's family home where Olivia was caught in the crossfire. Today would have been Olivia's 10th birthday.
READ MORE: Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum shares special way she will mark her 10th birthday
To celebrate the day, pupils at her school will dress in her favourite colour pink. Mrs Wilkinson said: "[Her friends] felt it was important to celebrate her birthday. And that's not decrying what has happened, but they did feel that Olivia would have wanted to do that."
In a way to remember her, her family are decorating a tree near her old home in a celebration of her life. And among the first people to use the special place will be her five-year-old twin cousins.
Around this tree they hope to build a memorial park in her name and are pleading for help to raise £300,000. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror Olivia's mum Cheryl said: “It was my best friend Gemma’s idea, Gemma is the mum of Olivia’s best friend.
"‘Liv’s house’ in the cemetery is just for close family and friends so that was the idea behind decorating the tree, doing something for her birthday that other people in the community can leave flowers or a message there if they want to for Liv. We’re decorating it with balloons, bows and lights, and hanging the messages to the branches.”
READ NEXT: Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum's touching message to daughter on first birthday without her
Footage of manhunt for Thomas Cashman to feature in new C4 documentary
