Friends and family have remembered Chloe Rutherford, the trainee travel agent who died in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, on what would have been her 21st birthday.
Memories of Chloe, who was an apprentice at Westoe Travel in South Shields, were posted by the Chloe and Liam Forever Together Trust social media pages, while her best friend said: "You’ve left a massive gap that no one will ever fill."
Her birthday comes a day after bomber accomplice Hashem Abedi, 23, was jailed at least 55 years.
He had helped his older sibling Salman to plan the bombing that killed 22 people and injured hundreds on 22 May 2017.
He was convicted after a court heard he was ‘just as guilty’ as his brother, who detonated the bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. He died in the attack.
Chloe’s mother, Lisa Rutherford, read out a statement in court, describing Chloe as a ‘ray of sunshine’.
Caroline Curry, mum of Chloe’s boyfriend, Liam, who also died in attack, also spoke in court.
Abedi refused to attend the hearing and was sentenced in his absence.
Read more of Chloe’s mum’s statement to the court here.
By Lisa James, Deputy Editor (UK)
