A FUN-loving South Yorkshire schoolgirl was knocked down and fatally injured just moments after buying sweets from an ice cream van.
Tiffany Auld, aged 13, stepped from behind an ice cream van into the path of a van.
Tiffany, of Milton Road, Hoyland, suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead just over an hour later at Barnsley District General Hospital.
She was due to sleepover with three other girls at pal Courtney Draisey's home on nearby Millhouses Street - where tragedy struck just after 6pm on Friday. Her sobbing friends today told how they watched in horror and a neighbour described how he helped as a paramedic battled to try to save her life.
Read tributes and leave your own message for Tiffany in our book of condolence, click hereToday the garden fence was covered in floral tributes and toys, with sympathy cards and notes.
Among the steady stream of visitors to the site to pay their respects was the ice cream man at whose van the dance-mad Kirk Balk School pupil had been buying sweets..
The man, obviously left shaken by the events, left a bouquet of flowers with a touching verse: "Everytime a church bell rings, another angel gets their wings."
A message from Tiffany's parents, who live in nearby Milton Road, read: "Your stage is heaven now baby, and you will perform in all our minds until we meet you there precious. Love you always, our beautiful daughter."
Tiffany and her friends had just bought sweets from the ice cream man and were returning to play on the swings at the Forge, a playing field on the other side of the road, when the collision happened with white Vauxhall Combo which was travelling towards King Street.
Courtney, 14, said: "Tiffany was the last of us to get served by the ice cream van. I just remember looking back and I saw her being thrown through the air. It was horrible. We were all screaming and crying.
"We were supposed to be going to Meadowhall the next day to get some clothes for a dance routine we were doing at school. I can't believe she's gone. We were good mates. She was always happy and laughing."
Jackie Laver, Courtney's mum, sobbed: "We picked up the money Tiffany had been carrying. I've put it in a little bag. I'm sure her mum will want it, because, with the sweets, it was the last thing she was holding.
"I've got Tiffany's overnight bag of clothes which she had brought for the sleepover. I haven't seen her mum and dad yet. But what can you say? We feel so deeply for them. We've been in tears."
Other tributes left at the scene and on social networking sites Bebo and MSN Messenger described her as a "dancing queen" and "the biggest star in the sky".
A message from Aunty Gloria and Uncle Patch said: "Show them how to dance in heaven."
Teddies and flowers have also been left by Millhouses Street residents.
Among them was Shaun Barnard, 27, a telecommunications engineer, who was one of the first people on the scene.
He said: "She was in a bad way. I got there first. I heard an almighty clatter, looked out of the window and saw the driver of the van with her. He was in pieces.
"I've had some first aid training. But there wasn't much I could do. I shouted for somebody to call an ambulance, got a blanket from a neighbour and I kept talking to her. She wasn't conscious.
"The paramedic arrived and he worked hard to try to save her life as her friends were screaming and crying. He did all he could. It was awful. It will stay with me forever."
Tiffany went to St Helen's RC Primary School and then Saint Pius X Catholic High School in Wath, before moving recently to Kirk Balk School, in Hoyland.
A special school assembly is expected next week ahead of the funeral arrangements.
Meanwhile some residents have slammed the road safety measures in place in the Milton Road and Millhouses Street area of Hoyland, saying that more should be done to prevent cars speeding through the area.
Joanne and David Wood, who live opposite Tiffany's parents on Milton Road, said there should be road signs warning motorists of the nearby recreation area.
Joanne said: "What has happened is absolutely devastating, it's just awful.
"Cars go speeding up and down and there are no signs warning that it's a kids' play area. Something needs to be done."
Anyone with information about the incident is being urged to call the South Yorkshire Police Witness Helpline on Sheffield 0114 220 2970.
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FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsCheck out the very latest on South Yorkshire's roads - including live traffic cameras on Sheffield's commuter routes - with our Traffic sectionLatest sport. The full article contains 826 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
