THE parents of a "caring, creative and fearless" seven-year-old have paid tribute to their daughter at her funeral - after she was killed by a car while playing in the snow.

Abbi Peat and Joe Duncan were joined by hundreds of mourners as their seaside town came to a standstill on Wednesday (March 21) for Maisie Duncan.

Friends, families and Maisie's schoolmates lined the streets wearing pink, the youngster's favourite colour, as her cortege passed through the town to the church.

And Abbi, Joe, and Maisie's twin brother Charlie, paid a heartbreaking family tribute to "Maisie Moo", describing her as "our hero" and "a perfect, innocent heart".

The family also thanked their communities of Looe and Polperro, Cornwall, for the collective support they have received - including a JustGiving page, and a memorial pink ribbon campaign that has stretched as far as New Zealand and the USA.

Maisie's parents said: "The love and support that we have received at this most painful time has been incredible.

"The gestures of kindness, the kind smiles in the street, the collective comfort blanket you have provided to us - these acts of kindness no matter how big or small have kept us going.

"The massive impact our little girl has had on everyone is beyond imaginable, and we just wanted to say we thank you and love you all."

They added: "Maisie made a big impact on our lives in the short time she was with us. We will miss her, we will all miss her caring nature, her creativity and fearlessness.

"You are and always will be our best friend. We love you to the moon and back and more. Sleep well our snow angel. We will remember you forever."

Maisie tragically died on March 1, when she was hit by a car that crashed into a house in the snow.

Since then, a JustGiving page set up in her memory has collected more than £17,000.

And the pink ribbon memorial campaign has swept not only Cornwall but has reached as far as New Zealand, USA, Australia and Canada.

At her funeral, held in St Martin's Church in Looe, Abbi and Joe said that these gestures show that Looe and Polperro are "the best places to live in the World".

They said: "We love the pink bows and ribbons, the Maisie Rocks decorated stones secreted for people to find, and the flowers.

"As a family we have all been raised up by the outpouring of love and support from friends, family and the community.

"We know that through your generosity and kindness you will see us through the difficult weeks and months to come.

"The memory of Maisie will be preserved as a perfect, innocent heart forever, and as a community that has pulled together in collective grief we will in time move forward in a celebration of a beautiful life well lived."

After the funeral, Looe Mayor Armand Toms read out a statement from Abbi and Joe, adding: "This is probably the hardest thing Maisie’s family have ever had to write."

The statement read: "We could tell so many stories about how funny Maisie was, how kind she was and how daring she was.

“Everyone has their own story about Maisie because she was the life and soul of the party.

"Everywhere she went she spread a bit of joy – whether that be from a little smile to a passing person or by showing off her fancy foot work to a whole pub full of people.

“We are all so proud of who she was as a person; never a bad word to say about anyone and always trying to find a way to help.

"Maisie moo will always be our hero. We envy her bravery, her skills to find good in every situation, her ability to make someone smile with just a little grin on her face.

“You are and always will be our best friend. We love you to the moon and back and more. Sleep well our snow angel. We will remember you forever.”