Tributes paid to mum who 'just passed away on the…

Tributes paid to mum who 'just passed away on the couch' next to daughter, 3

A mum who "just passed away on the couch" next to her three-year-old daughter was "one in a million", loved ones have said.

Nicole Barnes, 29, was at her home in Bootle, Merseyside in the UK with her youngest child when she died on October 3.

The mum-of-four was found after her children's school rang her partner Craig Sharnock to ask why Nicole had not picked them up.

When Nicole was found, her friend Gemma tried to resuscitate her while waiting for the paramedics.

Craig, 36, was made redundant a few weeks ago and has been training as a carpet fitter. He is now a single dad to their four "well-behaved children" Nieve, 10, Scott, seven , Tom, five , Delilah, three.

Nicole's cousin Kim Jowett has set up a fundraiser to help 'ease the financial burden' off Craig and their children.

Craig doesn't know if he will ever be able to finish his training and get back to work as his son Tom is severely autistic and Nicole fought for years to get him the right help, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Kim said: "She picked up Delilah at 11.30am from nursery and was just waiting round to go back and pick her children up. 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 her death has left everyone unbelievably sad. The family are waiting for results from the autopsy to find out why she died. Her family said she was "fit, healthy and never had anything wrong with her".

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Nicole, who was a stay-at-home mum, and has now raised over £10,000.

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. When they looked at the ring camera she had stopped answering the door for two hours.

"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.

"It is unbelievable how sad her mum Dawn and her dad Tom are. Nieve has took on a mums 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."

Many 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 on the King George V Playing Fields in, Huyton.