'Matilda would have got a kick out of litter pick'

Matilda Pritchard aged 11 died in April of a rare heart condition

An 11-year-old girl who died of a rare heart condition has been honoured with a large litter pick at her local park.

Matilda Pritchard, from Leeds, who died on 3 April, was a member of a litter picking club and loved volunteering and environmental projects.

The initial fundraising target was hit inside two weeks, and the family said they were now almost halfway to their new £42,000 total to raise funds for environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The event took place at her favourite place to litter pick, Pudsey Park, and her father, Steven Pritchard, said his daughter "would have got a kick" out of the day's event.

Steven Pritchard said his daughter was passionate about her local environment

"She absolutely loved seeing a bag full of rubbish and a clean park," he said.

"Since her passing we've been looking for ways to honour her legacy.

"And this, bringing friends and family and strangers together, she's shining down on us and it just feels lovely to be here."

Matilda had an undiagnosed heart condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which Mr Pritchard said she showed no symptoms of until she passed away in her sleep.

According to the NHS, ARVC is a rare condition with a minimum estimated prevalence of one in 5,000.

Funds raised from the litter pic will go to Keep Britain Tidy's Eco-Schools programme, which teaches children how to look after their local environment, making a difference where they live, which is something Mr Pritchard said his daughter was passionate about.

Matilda's dad said she "loved seeing a bag full of rubbish and a clean park"

Mr Pritchard said his family started fundraising to focus their grief, with an original target of £11,213 to represent Matilda’s birthday on 11 February 2013.

But this was reached within two weeks and the family have now raised more than £20,000.

Mr Pritchard said: "I didn't know what to do and this is my counselling.

"The support today and the wonderful feedback and messages from people around the world has been amazing.

"Matilda would have got a real kick out of this."

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