THE family of a young girl who died after being struck by a falling tree have raised nearly £50,000 in her name – and paid a heartfelt tribute to their ‘beautiful daughter’.

Six-year-old Ella Henderson was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary by road with an air ambulance doctor after being injured at Gosforth Park First School, in Newcastle on Friday afternoon.

Despite the bests efforts of medics she died in hospital on Saturday morning.

Following the tragedy, the family set up a fundraising page for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, who responded to the incident, and the page has already raised nearly £50,000 in Ella’s name.

Today, Ella’s family, who are continuing to receive support from specialist officers, issued a heartfelt tribute to their beloved daughter and sister.

The family said: “Ella is our beautiful baby girl now and always.

“We want to say a heartfelt thank you to the teachers, emergency services and the staff at the RVI who did everything they could to help her.

“We are truly humbled by all the support and donations, even from people we have never met before.

“She was so brave and so strong, she brought so much joy to us, her big sister Abi, her family, her besties and all who she met.

“We feel incredibly blessed to have had her in our lives. We had the perfect family and she will live on in our hearts.”

Andy Mawson, director of operations at the Great North Air Ambulance Service, said: “The amount of money raised is incredible. I think it’s bittersweet for everybody.

"It’s just such a truly heartbreaking tragedy. To the family and friends we just wanted to say thank you. It really does mean the world to us. The fact that you’ve been able to provide support in such a horrendous time is truly humbling.

“The donations will make a huge difference. The money so far will cover the cost of around ten missions. That’s ten lives that we will directly be able to impact as a result of this action.

“We have nothing but absolute sincere gratitude for everybody involved, and for the community and the family and friends.”

Detective Inspector Steve Byrne, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was an incredibly tragic incident and our thoughts go out to Ella’s family and loved ones at this unbelievably difficult time.

“We will continue to offer them any support they need, and they have asked that their privacy is respected as they grieve the loss of Ella.”

Following the incident an investigation was launched with police working in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive.