THE mother of an 18-year-old who killed herself on the M65 has paid tribute to ‘a lovely girl’.

Lena Begum, from Brierfield, took her own life by walking in front of a van near Gannow last April, an inquest found.

Her mum, Selina, said after the hearing at Burnley Coroner’s Court that the loss had been hard to bear for her family.

She said: “She was a nice girl, a lovely girl. Everyone loved her. She was the only girl in our family. She had two younger brothers and looked after them.

“As a family this has been really traumatic for us. My whole life is family. I want to remember the good things not the bad things.

“She was a bright girl, she wanted to be a dental nurse. Before she did chemistry.

“For 16 years she never caused me any trouble. We hurt so much.”

Miss Begum, a former pupil at Stoneyholme Community Primary School and Sir John Thursby Community College, was struck while crossing the eastbound slip-road towards Gannow, at junction 10, at around 3.50am on April 10 last year.

East Lancashire’s assistant coroner, Mark Williams, heard on Tuesday how Miss Begum, of Higher Reedley Road, died ‘rapidly’ from multiple serious injuries including fractures to her neck, skull, spine and ribs.