Send off for ‘beautiful’ Bella-Rae: Heartbroken mother launches funeral fundraiser for ‘blue eyed baby girl’ who was mauled to death by ‘Staffie or pit bull’ dog family had owned for a week

• Mother of Bella-Rae Birch has changed her Facebook profile picture in tribute
• She has also raised more than £2,100 via crowdfunder to cover funeral costs
• And the family are planning to hold a vigil for the toddler at St Helens Church
• Bella-Rae was tragically mauled to death by a ‘Staffie or Pitbull Terrier’
• Police destroyed the dog and are trying to establish the previous owner 

The heartbroken mother of a ‘beautiful’ baby girl who was tragically mauled to death at her Merseyside home by the family dog has launched a fundraiser for the 17-month-old’s funeral. 

Bella-Rae Birch was attacked by the ‘Staffie or Pitbull Terrier’ – bought by her parents just a week earlier – at home on Bidston Avenue in Blackbrook, St Helens on Monday afternoon. She was rushed to hospital by emergency services but sadly died of her injuries.

Merseyside Police said officers destroyed the dog and are trying to determine whether the animal was an illegal breed. They are also trying to establish the dog’s previous owners.

Last night, Bella-Rae’s mother Treysharn Bates set up a crowdfunder for funeral costs which raised more than £2,100 in just 16 hours.

She also announced that the family will hold a vigil at St Helens Church on March 30 in the toddler’s memory, and changed her Facebook profile picture, using an image of Bella-Rae.  

In a statement on GoFundMe, Miss Bates said: ‘On the 21st of March we sadly lost our gorgeous blue eyed baby girl, who was just one year of age, in a tragic sudden accident. We are now in a position where we need to raise funds towards the most beautiful send off. Every little will help, every little is appreciated. Thank you everyone’.

A poster advertising the vigil shared on Facebook says: ‘Please join us in creating a beautiful vigil and balloon release in memory of Bella-Rae. Music and mascots will be involved to create a memorable evening.’

It comes just months after Jack William Lis, 10, was killed by a vicious dog nicknamed ‘Beast’ while playing with a friend after school in Penyheol, Caerphilly. 

Undated family handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Bella-Rae Birch

Last night, Bella-Rae’s mother Treysharn Bates changed her Facebook profile picture

She also set up a crowdfunder for funeral costs which raised more than £2,100 in just 16 hours

The family will hold a vigil at St Helens Church on March 30 in the toddler’s memory

Pictured: Dog victim Bella-Rae being held by her parents in a family photo

Merseyside Police giving a press conference outside the home of the dog attack on March 22, 2022

Yesterday, Bella-Rae’s family said in a statement released via police that the toddler ‘will be sadly missed but never forgotten’, and are ‘trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of our much-loved Bella-Rae’.

Leaving flowers outside the family home in St Helens on Tuesday, one eyewitness who was close to tears told MailOnline: ‘It’s awful. I went over to help. I don’t want to go into what happened but all I will say is that they were doting family. They doted on that little girl. They were always out together.’

Another neighbour said: ‘You see it on the news, but when it happens on your doorstep it’s devastating for the whole community.

‘It’s just heartbreaking. The brother of the little girl is in my boy’s class at school. My dad ran over and tried to perform CPR, he’s really devastated. He’s still in shock and won’t speak.’

One resident said: ‘We pulled up from school and heard screaming. I just ran over to try to help and started CPR until the paramedics took over.’

Joanne Matthews, 53, said: ‘She was such a beautiful little girl, toddling about. I’d see the family in passing, just to say hello, and they were always very pleasant.’

Describing the scene of yesterday’s attack, she told MailOnline: ‘I saw them bring the dog out. I couldn’t tell what breed it was but from the back it looked like a Staffordshire bull terrier or pit bull. It looked fully grown and not like a puppy.’

Undated family handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Bella-Rae Birch

The scene at Bidston Avenue in St Helens, Merseyside on March 22, 2022 

Merseyside Police Superintendent Steve Brizell at a press conference outside the home on March 22, 2022

A police officer wipes her eyes outside a house in St Helens on March 22, 2022

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she got home from the shops at about 4.30pm, when the area was busy with police. She said: ‘The mum was on the field at the front of the house crying. She was hysterical.

‘It is usually very quiet here and safe for children, but when you hear something like this has happened it is so distressing. It was heartbreaking to see her crying. She was inconsolable. I don’t want to imagine what she is going through.’

Neighbour Pauline Sharratt said: ‘It was such a shock. She was a 17-month-old baby, it’s heart-rending, it really is.’

Another neighbour Linda Burchill said she saw the dog being taken away by police. She added: ‘It seemed so placid at the time. The police put it in the back of a van on a leash.’

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Everybody is devastated. All the avenue was out, there was a helicopter but it couldn’t land.’

At a press conference outside the home yesterday, Merseyside Police Superintendent Steve Brizell said: ‘Bella-Rae has lost her life in the most unimaginably terrible circumstances and our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and the wider community at this devastating time. 

Merseyside Police said officers received a report that a child had been attacked by a dog at an address on Bidston Avenue

A police car (bottom centre) outside a house in St Helens after a 17-month-old girl died

Officers received a report that a child had been attacked by a dog on Bidston Avenue in Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside on Monday afternoon

‘Our specialist family liaison officers are providing the family of Bella- Rae with support, and officers will remain in the area in the coming days to provide further reassurance and support for the wider community.

‘At this stage we understand the family dog they bought just a week earlier has attacked Bella-Rae inside the family home.

‘Bella-Rae was taken by ambulance to hospital by paramedics but despite the best efforts of police officers at the scene and the paramedics and doctors, sadly Bella-Rae died as a result of her injuries yesterday afternoon. It’s left the family and the community grieving and in complete shock.

‘During the incident, the dog was handed over to police at the address and has been humanely destroyed. 

‘Detailed investigations are continuing into this tragic event, forensic examines to determine the dog’s breed are ongoing and we are working to identify the previous owners of the dog so we can establish its history.

‘We want to continue to support the family and the local community, and officers will remain at the scene on Bidston Avenue during the day today.’

In a statement on Twitter, local Labour MP Conor McGinn said: ‘The close-knit community in Blackbrook and across St Helens are in deep shock after yesterday’s tragedy.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the little girl’s family, who are devastated. I know everyone locally will respect their request for privacy as they grieve.’

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