An "amazing" young mum was found dead on the couch beside her three-year-old daughter. Nicole Barnes, 29, was at home with her youngest child when she died on October 3.
The mum-of-four was found after her partner Craig Galloway received a phone call to say their children had not been collected from school. A friend then discovered Nicole and attempted to resuscitate her before paramedics arrived.
Her family was later given the devastating news that she had died. Nicole leaves behind her partner Craig and their four children, Niamh, 10; Scott, seven; Tom, five; and Delilah, three.
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Nicole's cousin Kim has since set up a fundraising page to help support 36-year-old Craig, who is training to be a carpet fitter, and their children. The GoFundMe, which has passed its £10,000 target, will "help to ease the financial burden", the Liverpool ECHO reports.
Kim said: "She picked up Delilah at 11.30am from nursery and was expected to pick her other children up later. She just passed away on the couch. She was an absolutely gorgeous young girl. She didn't have a bad bone in her body.
"She was an absolutely amazing mum and she did everything with such grace. She was a better mum than I ever could be. She had loads of issues with getting her five-year-old into help and into school because of his autism but she didn't stop. She fought and fought until he got everything he ever needed."
Nicole's cause of death is not yet known and Kim said everyone was devastated by what happened. Nicole lived in Huyton, Merseyside.
Kim, 36, added: "She was such a gorgeous soul. No one in the world could ever say a bad word about her. One of her friends, Gemma, tried to do CPR. The medics did everything they could.
"This is going to be so hard for Craig. It is so sad she has lost her life and left her four poor babies behind. She was one in million. She left such an amazing impression on everyone's hearts and her children will never forget that.
"Niamh has took on a mum's role and is trying to be like her mum and help to take care of everyone but she shouldn't be doing that. This is just how she saw her mum, as someone who looked after everyone."
Friends and family from as far as Holland have said Nicole's death has broken their hearts. Her closest fiends have organised a "fundraiser cup" in her memory to raise money for her four children. It will take place at 12pm on Saturday, October, 15.
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