THE memory of a little girl who died in a road accident will live on through the laughter of other children, her parents said yesterday.

Aleisha Ord died a day before her fourth birthday and yesterday, on what would have been her fifth birthday, a £20,000 memorial play park was opened in her name at Murton Nursery School.

Thanks to the generosity of people in Murton, near Seaham, County Durham, Aleisha's parents, John and Michelle Ord, raised every penny needed for the adventure facility.

At the ceremony, staff, parents and dozens of Aleisha's friends heard her godfather, Colin Longstaff, describe the park as a "beautiful and fitting tribute to a beautiful little girl."

Family friends, London tenor John Foley and Broadway singer Connie Kunkle who both sang at two fundraising concerts for Aleisha, also attended.

Connie said: "This will always be known as Aleisha's play park and her memory will live on forever."

After the opening of the park - on schedule despite a vandal attack a month ago - Mr Ord said he was both very proud and very sad.

"This is such a lovely tribute to our daughter. We just wish she was here," he said.

Fighting back tears, Mrs Ord, who is expecting a baby later this year, said her daughter would live on through the laughter of generations of nursery pupils.

And as children played in the new park, a further fundraising venture in memory of Aleisha was revealed.

In tribute to the little girl who loved her father's nightly stories, a book called Princess Aleisha is about to be published.