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Leeds Live
Leeds Live
National
Stephanie Finnegan

Message in a bottle from Manchester bombing victim's mum washed up on Italian beach

A message in a bottle from the mum of a Leeds teenager killed in the Manchester Arena bombing attack has washed up on an Italian beach.

The bottle contained photos of Sorrell Leczkowski, who was aged 14 when she died in the terrorist attack in May 2017, and a message from her grieving mum Samantha.

A cleaner found it floating among the rocks on a beach in Pozzo Pasulo, Salento, in the southern Apulia region of Italy, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Friday.

The message said:

"Your absence is a pain in the heart that never leaves. The moment you died, my heart broke up in two: one piece is full of grief, the other died with you."

The bottle was brought to the mayor of the nearest village, Lorenzo Ricchiuti, who has reportedly invited the family to Italy.

"In loving memory of Sorrell Leczkowski" (Corriere della Sera)

The journalist who wrote the article, Claudio Tadicini, said Sorrell's mum said the bottle was thrown into the sea by Sorrell's aunt, adding: "The mother accepted the invitation of the Mayor of Morciano di Leuca, Lorenzo Ricchiuti, and will come here with her family presumably next winter.

"Sorrell's mother wants the bottle to be kept here."

The teenager, who was from Adel in Leeds, was one of 22 people who died in the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert.

She was there to pick up her little sister, along with her mother and grandmother, when a home-made bomb was detonated in the arena's foyer as crowds were leaving. 

Her mother and grandmother were injured but survived the attack. Her sister was uninjured.

Sorrell dreamt of being an architect so she could build her mum a house.

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