'I woke up next to my five-year-old and she was gone. We don't know why'

The inconsolable mother of a five-year-old died who unexpectedly has spoken of her “horrendous” nightmare.

Lila Marsland was found unresponsive by her mum Rachael on the morning of December 28. The pair had been sharing a bed together at the time.

An ambulance was called but it's believed the "amazing” little girl had been gone for several hours. Tragically, Lila was pronounced dead at the scene, just two weeks before her sixth birthday.

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Now her heartbroken family have spoken for the first time about their devastating loss – saying they don’t yet know how Lila died.

“I woke up and she was dead next to me,” Rachael Mincherton, 36, told the Manchester Evening News. “I rang for an ambulance but she had been dead a few hours.

“They gave her CPR; they arrived within minutes but it was already too late. It’s horrendous. I still can’t believe it’s happened.”

Lila, a Flowery Field Primary School pupil from Hyde, was known for her bright red hair and her zest for life.

Described as “the nicest child ever,” the youngster would hug every teacher before leaving school and was always playing out with her friends.

“She was amazing,” Rachael, who grieves alongside Lila’s dad Daz, 41, and sister Ava, 14, said.

“Because we don’t know what she’s died of, I don’t feel like we can even grieve properly at the moment. We haven’t even been given answers on how she’s died.

“She was the nicest child ever. She had bright ginger hair. She was kind to everyone; I would take her to school and pick her up and she would be hugging all the teachers. It would take her 30 minutes to leave.

“She loved Halloween, dancing, tap, ballet,