'We are keeping our daughter's memory alive'

The bereaved parents of a woman who was killed in a car crash just days ago have made it their mission to keep their daughter's memory alive.

Zacc and Stephanie Hancock said nothing could have prepared them for the moment the police knocked on their door, on 1 May, to deliver the news.

Amarni Jessica Rose Walton, known as "Marni" and from Chell, Stoke-on-Trent, was the only one who died in the crash, on Newcastle Road, Moreton, that left three others seriously injured.

Now in her memory, her parents have organised a family fun day, which is taking place on Sunday at Kidsgrove Athletic Development Centre.

Marni was a passenger in an Audi, which left the road and collided with a Range Rover that was parked in a layby.

The event was originally meant to be a small charity football match, but it escalated when the local community got on board, helping ensure it is a day to remember the much-loved 20-year-old.

It will also double up as her 21st birthday celebrations, which would have been on 22 June.

Talking to BBC Radio Stoke, Stephanie, recalled the moment she received the news her daughter had died.

"The knock on the door, when the police officers came, wasn't something I'd pre-empted," she said.

"It was a shock. At first, you don't want to believe what they're telling you is the truth.

"We lived like that for a good week. It all seems like a blur. I don't think it sunk in. It just felt numb."

She had also been faced with ringing Zacc to tell him about the crash, a "devastating" moment he said would stay with forever.

"To receive the phone call I did from my wife to tell me that we'd lost our little girl," he said.

"No words that I could say could put into place what I was feeling - what went through my head in that moment."

Stephanie went onto say that "Marni was just the life and soul of a party, of a room, of a building".

"That really shows in the amount of people that have come forward with condolences and tributes," she said.

"She was such a loving sister, she was family oriented. In our eyes she was perfect. She didn't do no wrong by no-one and she was very very kind hearted."

The event at the centre, known as Packmoor Pitches on Handley Street, will also include an auction, bouncy castles, tug of war, stalls, a DJ and food.

It is free to get in, but any donations made will go to charity.

"We needed something to focus on to be able to move forward and the energy we've received from people has put a lot of energy back in us to be able to create something really big to honour her," Zacc said.

"We are overwhelmed, humbled and grateful to have such a loving community that have been there around us to support us as a family."

Stephanie added: "We wanted to do a big event to remember her. It's just something we felt we needed to do as a family to keep us busy and keep her memory alive."

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