THE family of a York girl who died say they have been touched by the show of support after a tree planted to celebrate her life was destroyed by thugs.

As The Press reported yesterday, the tree, planted on the village green in Upper Poppleton to remember Millie Wright was severely damaged by vandals overnight on Tuesday (May 20).

As previously reported by The Press, Millie Wright, of Poppleton, York, passed away in August 2021, aged just 13. She had been suffering from an underlying auto-immune health condition, and fell ill in March that year.

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Before her death, Millie - described by her family as 'inspirational and courageous' - was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a complication of acute hepatitis and acute liver failure.

Today, her mum, Ceri, said: "The outpouring of support that we have received is testament to how Millie was regarded, the loss felt upon her death and is a true reflection of sentiment in the village."

With her dad, Nigel, saying: "We have received several generous offers from local businesses to provide a replacement tree along with unprecedented support from all ages in Poppleton and wider communities.

"The new tree will be provided by the original donor, D-Tail Plants, York along with additional security measures to prevent recurrence."

The original tree was specially selected as it was one of only two 13-year-old red chestnuts in the country at the time and D-Tail Plants in York specifically helped the family to source a tree the same age as Millie, which they hoped they would see grow, giving them a place to sit and remember Millie for years to come.

It was the same age as Millie when she died and they planted it on May 7 last year so it was well-established and a real focal point.

Nigel said: "We want to speak to whoever did this. We hope that someone in the group has a conscience and will contact us or North Yorkshire Police directly, anonymously if required, with a name.

"Until you have lost a child or sibling you cannot begin to understand the impact of this mindless act.

"The village green has CCTV coverage so we are hopeful that we will be able to find out who did this."

North Yorkshire Police say they are investigating the vandalism and enquiries are ongoing.

A spokesperson said: "We’d still ask anyone with information to get in touch.

"Please call North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference number NYP-21062023-0104."

As The Press reported at the time, Millie’s family have set up a charity in her honour, called The Millie Wright Children’s Charity, to help families in a similar situation.

The charity's mission is to make life a little easier for the families of children diagnosed with rare and life threatening non-malignant liver, renal and haematological conditions being treated at Leeds Children’s Hospital, specifically Ward L50 where Millie was treated. 

Further details on the charity can be found on the website at: www.millieschildrenscharity.org