FAMILY and friends of a little girl who touched many people with her beautiful smile have raised more than £2,000 in her memory.

The money will go towards new equipment for the children’s high-dependency unit at York Hospital, which was funded by The Press’s Guardian Angels Appeal.

Gary Haq and Heidi Folland said without the top-class treatment their daughter, Sophia, received in this unit when she became seriously ill just weeks after birth, they would have lost her then.

But Sophia, who had Down’s Syndrome and suffered from the heart and lung condition pulmonary hypertension, lived to celebrate her first birthday and give her parents many happy memories. She died in April after her health deteriorated suddenly as a result of a virus.

Heidi said: “Everybody at the hospital did so much for Sophia. The staff are just so warm and friendly and the care she had was just absolutely fantastic.

“We are just pleased that after something so sad as losing our daughter we are able to give something back and we would like to say a big thank you to everybody who has donated money in Sophia’s memory.”

Gary, a researcher at the University of York, said: “We benefited from the generosity of everyone who donated to the Guardian Angels appeal so the unit could be built and we want these facilities to be there in the future for any child that needs them.”

More than 120 people attended Sophia’s funeral at St Oswald’s Church, in Fulford, including staff from the children’s ward at York Hospital.

Heidi said: “It’s amazing that a little girl could have touched so many people’s lives. She was a very happy little girl who was always smiling and I think people really took her to their heart.”

Dr Robin Ball, a consultant paediatrician and trustee of the Guardian Angels charity, said: “We still have a long shopping list of equipment we need and we are extremely grateful that people are still raising money for us. It is particularly poignant when we receive a donation in these circumstances from a family who have seen what the Guardian Angels unit can provide.”

Any readers wishing to make a donation can send cheques payable to “Guardian Angels York” to Guardian Angels York, Foss House, 271 Huntington Road, York, YO31 9BR.