Funeral cortege for brave seven-year-old Scots girl to be pulled by unicorns

Laia died from a brain tumour on April 30

Proud dad Lee, described his youngest daughter as a 'fighter' and said the end of her life was as peaceful as it could have been.

A seven-year-old girl who died from a brain tumour less than a year after being diagnosed will be laid to rest tomorrow (Friday) with a funeral cortege pulled by 'unicorns'.

Laia Jenkins became ill in September last year and was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour just four days after celebrating her seventh birthday.

The brave little girl was given radiotherapy treatment which shrunk the Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) tumour by two-thirds, and was able to enjoy a trip to Disneyland Paris with her family, as well as meeting 'real' Santa Claus in Lapland just before Christmas.

And at the end of January she was well enough to go on holiday to Grand Canaria with her family.

But she died on April 30 in a hospice, with her parents, Lee, 43, and Lorna, 40, and two of her sisters by her bedside.

Proud dad Lee, described his youngest daughter as a 'fighter' and said the end of her life was as peaceful as it could have been.

She will be taken to the Holytown Crematorium in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, in a funeral cortege pulled by horses dressed as unicorns, and laid to rest in a religious ceremony - because Laia loved the idea of God, although the family are not religious.

The procession will go via her primary school, and a piper will play in the street in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire.

Dad-of-four Lee said: "It was expected but you are never actually ready for it.

"For the past one-and-a-half to two months we were spending half the week at home and half the week at a hospice.

"It has given us peace of mind.

"By the end she had lost her mobility and her speech, for the past month she had been trapped inside herself.

"Her wee best pal has locked himself in his room, he is saying 'she's my best friend, not God's best friend, he can't have her'.

"We were hoping for a miracle but the doctors knew she had no chance.

"We went to Disneyland Paris and she loved it, she went on all the rides.