The sister of a much-loved Scots teenager who tragically died in a car crash has paid tribute to her following what would have been her 30th birthday.
Denice Fletcher lost her life at the age of 16 shortly after moving to Montrose in 2009.
Sister Hannah O’Neil, of Alexandria, was just nine when the tragedy happened and told how she continues to honour her sister’s memory every day.
The 22-year-old said: “Her 30th birthday would have been on July 13 this year and we went to the cemetery with balloons and alcohol to celebrate her life.
“It’s weird to think that I’m 22 now, older than she was. We were really close and I have lots of memories of her.
“She loved horses and I always think she would have had a career with horses. That’s all she wanted to do.
“She used to take me to see the horses at Carman stables and she used to take me shopping and to the shows in Dumbarton.
“She was really caring. She loved spending time with her friends and family. We spent a lot of time with my nana and cousins. We were all really close.”
The sisters and their mum were all close and loved spending time together.
The siblings were also good friends with their two cousins Andrew and Jack and had lots of fun playing together as youngsters.
Brothers Michael and Stephen had moved out of the family home in Balloch when the girls were growing up.
Hannah previously told how Denice was a typical teenager who loved doing her hair and make-up with a huge passion for horse riding.
The Lennox Herald previously reported how the family paid a special tribute to Denice on what would have been her 18th birthday, releasing 18 balloons at the cemetery.
Paying tribute to her daughter at the time, mum Helen said: “She could’ve been anything she wanted to be.
“Denice was a happy-go-lucky, friendly person who loved life. She was kind and outgoing, and she would do anything for anybody.”
Hannah now has a one-year-old daughter, Grace, and she told how Denice would have relished her role as an aunt.
She regularly shows Grace photographs of Denice to keep her memory alive.
She continued: “I show my little girl pictures of her all the time. There is this one picture she will not let go of.
"I always say to my mum I want her to grow up knowing who her aunt was.
“It has been really difficult for my mum and having a daughter myself really puts a perspective on that.
"I can’t imagine how my mum feels losing a daughter.
“It’s brought me and my mum closer. Me, my mum and Grace are all really close.”
Denice said she still hears from her sister’s friends 13 years on and said she loves hearing their memories of her, adding: “I usually put a picture of her up on Facebook on her anniversary and her friends reach out and tell me stories of her.
“I bumped into one of her friends on a night out in Balloch. She was telling me all of her memories of her, which was really nice.”
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