PUPILS and staff at Hesketh Fletcher High School are in mourning after the tragic deaths of one of their pupils.

And specialist counsellors have been put on standby for children and staff following the death of pretty Melanie Ellison, 15, two weeks after she suffered 60 percent burns to her body at her home in Atherton Road, Hindley Green.

She was apparently huddling upto a gas stove to keep warm when her skirt set alight.

Despite being taken to the special burns unit at Booth Hall Children's Hospital, her distraught parents Karen and Malcolm, eventually gave permission to turn off a life-support machine on the advice of medical staff.

Headteacher Don Vickers said: "Everyone in the school is totally distraught at Melanie's tragic death. She was a very popular pupil who will be greatly missed, especially by fellow pupils in Year 10, who have shown great maturity.

"This is a very caring school and all the children and staff were shocked at the accident which happened the evening after the school broke up for the holidays.

"We have held a short service in school with Rev. Bill Baldwin, Rector of Atherton, and Father James Reid, our school chaplain, and we will continue to pray for Melanie and her family."

Melanie was a delivery girl for The Journal.

And Anne Evans from The Journal's distribution side said: "She was a lovely girl, hard-working and extremely helpful."

Melanie's death came only a week after former Hesketh Fletcher pupil, Katrina Andrews, 17, died of a brain tumour, after a long and brave fight.

Despite her lengthy treatment at Christie Hospital in Manchester, Katrina, who died two days after Christmas, said last year that she was determined to continue her schooling as normal as possible and achieved a number of GCSE passes in the summer.

Mr. Vickers added: "It has been a very, very sad start to the New Year for us at Hesketh Fletcher."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.