PARENTS of a young girl who died last week while on a sleepover say they can hardly believe the fund set up in her name to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance has rocketed to more than £44,000.

Dawn and Andy Cubin said the money was already flowing to the service which was on standby for their daughter Hannah after she stopped breathing.

Writing on her Facebook page Dawn said: “Andy and I know that there are a number of other events being held for this cause; and some that we will never hear of.

“Wherever you are and whatever you are doing to raise funds, please know that we are so very grateful for the effort, generosity and compassion shown.”

The 14-year-old, who captured hearts as a tot when she was too shy to hand over a posy of flowers to the Duchess of Cornwall on a royal visit to Kemble Airfield in 2005, was at a friend’s house in Crudwell on December 10 when she stopped breathing.

Her parents and paramedics fought for an hour to resuscitate her but she did not recover. The Cubins believe she died in their arms before paramedics arrived.

Afterwards Dawn and Andy, a former Red Arrows pilot, decided to raise money for the air ambulance in her name, setting a modest target of £999. Within minutes it was reached and as news of their loss spread more and more donations poured in.

It passed £17,000 in 24 hours.

Air cadet Hannah, who hoped to follow in her father’s footsteps, was also keen on the martial art Tae Kwon-Do and had recently been awarded her black belt first dan.

Among the donations to the fund yesterday were £1,000 from the TaeKwonDo Association of Great Britain and another £1,000 from Tae Kwon-Do South West.

Money has been given by fellow fliers, including Andy’s former RAF colleagues and British Airways crew and fellow pupils and parents at Malmesbury School, have also donated, as have the owners of Cotswold Airport, the Red Arrows Association and Gulf War veteran John Nichol.

The couple have not set an end date for the appeal.

“Hannah’s legacy will continue indefinitely. It’s uplifting for us to see such an unbelievable response and we hope that you too are comforted by this outpouring of feeling for such a worthy cause,” they said in an update this week.