Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum remembers 'cheeky smile' of 'bubbly' daughter as mourners wear 'splash of pink' at funeral

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum paid an emotional tribute to her 'bubbly' 9-year-old daughter as mourners gathered for her funeral this morning. Olivia was shot at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22.

Family and friends wore a 'splash of pink' at the family's request as they gathered to remember the schoolgirl at St Margaret Mary’s Church in Knotty Ash on Thursday, September 15. Tearful mourners, some with pink ribbons pinned to their outfits, lined the street as the little girl's white coffin, decorated with butterflies on the side, arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.

The coffin was topped with lilies and teddy bears were placed alongside it in the white carriage. A hearse with floral tributes saying “daughter” and “Liv” arrived at the church shortly before the carriage.

READ MORE: Charity offering £50k reward in hunt for killer of Olivia Pratt-Korbel

Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, carried a pink teddy as she arrived at the church. She delivered an emotional eulogy to the congregation, telling them that Olivia "had her own mind" even as a tiny newborn baby who was born six weeks early and spent days in a special baby unit.

She said Olivia was independent and even as a toddler would choose her own clothes. “Although she loved sparkle and glitz she would never go overboard and she was very particular, even down to her socks," she said. “Olivia was very chatty and bubbly and would talk for England, to the point we thought she had Duracell batteries inside her somewhere.”

Mrs Korbel also talked about Olivia's love for singing and dancing. "She’d always be singing along to songs she enjoyed, especially when we would be driving in the car and she would always be in charge of the CD player," she said.

Olivia had a