Family pays tribute to ten-year-old girl from Colerne who died in skiing accident

The family of a ten-year-old girl from Colerne who died in a skiing accident at the weekend have paid tribute to their “very, very special” daughter.

Jemima Prees was critically injured on Sunday while on half-term holiday in the Mayrhofen resort in Austria.

Her parents Karen, who is a GP in Batheaston, and Tim, a lawyer in Devizes, have released a statement through Wiltshire Police describing her as “quirky, intelligent and fearless”.

It said: “Jemima was a very, very special girl. She lived every day as if there might be no tomorrow.

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“She had a capacity to touch people with love in a way that is rarely seen. It was a privilege to know her for nearly eleven years.

“She was quirky, intelligent, fearless, but most of all, always warm and amusing. Everyone loved her. We were so lucky to have shared so much time with her.”

They also expressed their pride in the way her elder brother Barnaby had battled to save her life and the fact that this meant her organs could be donated after her death.

The statement added: “She died in a beautiful place doing something she loved, with some of her favourite people.

“She was skiing within her ability and taking it very carefully, within yards of us. No one will know why she suddenly went straight down the piste or why she didn't turn or fall. After a hundred yards, she hit trees at a high speed.

“She died instantly at the scene from a major brain injury but her brother's heroic 40 minutes of resuscitation enabled her organs to be donated to save or transform four people's lives.

“We are very proud of him, as we were proud of her. We would now like to be given the space to grieve as a family, and to attempt to begin rebuilding our lives.”

Jemima, a pupil at Calder House School, in Colerne, also leaves behind two sisters.