THE FAMILY of a Bradford teenager who lost her life after taking MDMA have paid tribute to a kind, funny and loving girl whose death has left them feeling unimaginable grief.
Lila-Grace Smith, who has been described as a beautiful person by those closest to her, was just 17 when she died at a house in Steeton in June.
The Oxenhope teen had been socialising with friends but fell unwell after taking MDMA – something she is not believed to have ever tried before – in powder form.
Lila suffered a cardiac arrest and her death was confirmed at Airedale General Hospital in the early hours of June 4.
READ MORE: Bright and popular teenage girl died after taking MDMA for first time at sleepover
Rochelle Hargreaves, Lila’s auntie – her mum’s sister – said that her loss has shattered the family.
“We are shocked and in deep grief, and we always will be,” said Rochelle, 36.
“Lila was the most precious girl, someone we all loved and adored beyond words.
“She was a beautiful person inside and out. She was kind, funny and had good morals.
“Lila was the best niece and cousin ever. Losing her has had a catastrophic impact on my sister, her dad, her brothers, the rest of the family, her boyfriend and her friends.
“She was a light in all of our lives.”
Lila, who was not known to have any underlying medical issues, was an A-level student and also worked part-time as a waitress.
She went to secondary school at North Halifax Grammar School, where she stayed on for sixth form, studying psychology, biology and French.
Lila also took piano lessons before the pandemic.
As a child she went to Oakworth Primary School, where she first met Harry – her boyfriend – who her mum said she had been with “for some time”.
Money is now being raised for two memorial benches to be unveiled in Oakworth Park in Lila’s honour.
“It’s something Harry wanted to do for Lila,” Rochelle explained.
“We did a sponsored walk from Lila’s first school to North Halifax Grammar, to raise money for the benches.
“My sisters and I also want to raise awareness in schools about what to do if your friend or anybody else becomes unwell after taking drugs.
“If people are going to take drugs, they’re going to take them. But we want to set up a charity and educate people about how to respond if it goes wrong.
“We hope it can save someone else’s life and ensure that they don’t have to suffer like Lila did.
“We will be doing more things in the future to help raise money, and we also want to set up a charity in Lila’s name.”
Rochelle’s sister, Leanne, also paid tribute to her niece.
“Lila was a gorgeous soul. Her death has shattered the family and all her friends,” said Leanne, 41.
“She is a massive loss to us all. We are only just beginning to embark on our grief journey, and it’s painful and distressing.
“We will never get over this.”
Leanne has called for more to be done to educate young people on the dangers of drugs.
“We can’t pretend young people won’t try drugs, because some always will. But parents must speak to their children and warn them to ring for help as soon as someone becomes unwell,” she said.
“We have to safeguard young people with information if things go wrong. We should teach them not to be bothered about getting in trouble – it should be instinct to get help and save a life.
“We don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The GoFundMe page set up to pay for Lila’s memorial benches has well exceeded its target of £3,500 – with over £5,350 now raised.
Leanne said that the family would like to use some of this money to teach others.
“We want the surplus money to be used to roll out education in schools – on the dangers of drugs and on the importance of ringing 999 straight away,” she said.
“Lila’s school, North Halifax Grammar, did some education the day they re-opened after her death – but it’s a shame that this isn’t being done as part of the curriculum, across the board.”
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