Teacher of girl killed on pitch praises community

The head teacher of a pupil who was killed when a car crashed on to a pitch has praised the local community for supporting each other after her death.

Ten-year-old Poppy Atkinson was fatally struck by the car during football training at Kendal Rugby Club in Cumbria on 5 March 2025.

Nick Turley, head of Old Hutton CE Primary School, said since her death the community had come together to show they "really care about each other".

Turley also said he had been personally supported by other head teachers, including Chris Upton, who leads a school in Lancashire where a pupil was killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.

"He had to support his school through a traumatic event, when one of his pupils was sadly killed in the Manchester terror attack at the arena," Turley told Radio Cumbria.

"[Upton] was one of the first people to contact me last year, he's been to school a couple of times and he's always on the phone with me as well."

Turley said the school had been contacted by people from around the country who wanted to help and support the children and staff.

"That was one of the big things for me, obviously - how we're going to support the children," he said.

"But actually, I discovered how resilient our children are and how they really supported the adults in school in the last 12 months."

Poppy's family described her as a "force of nature" who loved football and dreamed of playing for Manchester United.

Cumbria Police recently said an investigation into the crash was ongoing and a 40-year-old arrested last year remained released under investigation.

Turley is now planning to raise money for the Poppy Atkinson Memorial Fund, which supports grass roots football, by running 40 miles (65km) from his old school to Old Hutton Primary.

The run, which will coincide with his 40th birthday, will also raise money for bereavement support charity Winston's Wish and help fund a new reading initiative for children.

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