Fundraiser for girl's dream of 'litter-free world'

The family of an 11-year-old girl who died suddenly in her sleep have set up a fundraiser to fulfil her dream of a "world without litter".

Matilda Pritchard, from Pudsey, had an undiagnosed heart condition which she had shown no symptoms of before her death in April.

Determined for her legacy to live on, the family set up a fundraiser for Keep Britain Tidy to help achieve Matilda's dream.

Dad Steve said: "She was a beautiful girl who cared immensely about nature and the environment and was deeply impacted by the sight of litter around our local community."

Mr Pritchard said Matilda loved being part of the local Pudsey litter-picking group and would go home happy every time she filled her bin bags with rubbish.

She even earned a Blue Peter badge for her efforts.

Mr Pritchard, 43, recalled how one day while out litter picking, she told him her dream was for the world to be free of litter.

"I said to her, 'one day sweetheart you will do it, we just need to continue it'."

After their daughter's death, the family set an initial fundraising target of £11,213 - to represent Matilda’s birthday on 11 February 2013 - which was reached within two weeks.

This was then increased to £42,000, with the aim of funding the charity's litter campaign in schools over the next five years.

Mr Pritchard said he picked five years to represent the length of time Matilda would have been at secondary school.

He said: "Matilda would have loved this and would very much have been a part of something like this in school so it absolutely felt like the right thing to do in her memory.

"Hopefully thousands of school children will be involved and although we can't remove all the litter in the world like she hoped, it's certainly a seed from which that dream can grow."

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said the charity wanted to say "a huge and heartfelt thank you" to the Pritchard family.

"Matilda dreamed of a world without rubbish, a dream we share," she said.

"Her passion for keeping her local parks clean and tidy is a reminder to us all that one person can make a difference.

"We would all do well to look at this beautiful country through the eyes of our children – through Matilda’s eyes – and keep striving for a world without rubbish."

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