The heartbroken dad of a bartender who took her own life in Magaluf has paid a touching tribute to her.
Danielle Finlay Brookes, 23, was found found dead at her flat on the Punta Ballena strip in Mallorca on May 19 last year, just days before her 24th birthday.
The bartender, from Crewe, was sadly found dead by her friends when they went to check on her, an inquest held in Warrington heard.
Danielle, known as Dani, died as a result of suicide, the inquest concluded.
Her dad Michael Finlay Brookes has now paid a heartbreaking tribute to his daughter who he said was 'beautiful inside and out'.
Speaking to Cheshire Live, Michael, who is known as Fin, said: "What can I say about Dani? People who say you don't know what you've got until it's gone, it's totally true, everything about it.
"Dani was my steel girder, all the way through life since she was born when I was 23. She had turned into a beautiful young lady and she was brainy.
"Dani was the type of person who would do anything for anyone. I've heard that many stories about when people she knew were feeling low in Magaluf.
"Dani would be the first person on the phone saying 'get ready, I'll come and pick you up' and she'd just take them out for a few drinks to cheer them up.
"She was just the life and soul of the party. She was beautiful inside and out. I know every dad says that but she was, she really was.
"She was just an amazing girl with a heart of gold. I miss her so much, I really do. It's heart-breaking. I really do feel like I've lost my best mate."
Fin said he and Dani used to go to karaoke nights together and said his daughter loved singing.
She also briefly appeared in a scene of the BBC's hit sitcom Citizen Khan, he said.
Dani grew up in the Crewe area but moved to Magaluf to work as a bartender, something Fin said she had been thinking of doing for a long time.
He said she had been 'loving it' and fondly remembered the time he went over to the Spanish tourist hotspot last year to visit Dani on her 23rd birthday.
He said: "It was meant to be a surprise but a couple of people let the cat out of the bag.
"She said the words to me 'dad, this is the best birthday ever, thank you'. It made me go all gooey that she just loved me being there and she hated me leaving."
The close pair even had 'his and hers' shot glasses - and Dani's was placed in her coffin 'so she could take it with her'.
Fin added: "A lot of people have said they couldn't believe how close we both were. We were like best mates."
After Dani's death, the family struggled to get her body flown back to the UK as she had contracted COVID a couple of months earlier and Fin said the Spanish authorities could not find her medical records.
This meant that he was facing the possibility of flying over to Magaluf, where she would be cremated, before isolating for two weeks, flying back to the UK and isolating again before 'even thinking about organising a service'.
Fin thanked the British press for helping to publicise his situation, which he said helped to put pressure on the Spanish authorities to repatriate Dani to the UK.
During the inquest in Warrington, it was revealed that Dani had been diagnosed with anxiety and had attempted an overdose seven years earlier.
According to a statement from her mum Mandy, which was read out by area coroner Claire Welch, Dani had appeared 'happy' and 'content' during a night out shortly before her death.
She had been sending videos to her step-mum Lisa and speaking to her over WhatsApp making plans for a hot-tub night to celebrate her birthday.
Dani is buried behind Crewe Crematorium and her headstone reads: "Loving daughter, sister, granddaughter and niece who grew her angel wings."
