THE sister of a little girl killed by falling rocks on a coastal holiday has spoken of how the family felt 'helpless' after her death.

Harriet Forster, nine, was killed on August 8 after rocks from the cliffs at Staithes, near Whitby, fell on her.

The youngster, from Oxford, was holidaying in the seaside village with her mum Holly at the time, and the local community has been in shock over the tragic death.

Her 27-year-old sister Sophie Forster has said paramedics tried for over an hour to save Harriet when she was fatally struck by the crumbling rocks.

Miss Forster said: "Harriet was amazing, wonderful, lovely and kind and it is so important for us that something positive came out of all this."

The youngster's funeral on Monday, September 3, in Oxford, saw more than 400 people pay their respects.

The family put out collection buckets to raise money for the two charities which tried to save Harriet's life: Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The family said they soon realised many more people, including the community in Staithes, wanted to do something positive in Harriet's memory and Sophie set up an online fundraising page.

In just five days the page raise almost £5,000 for the charities in hundreds of donations from across the country.

The family is still coming to terms with Harriet's tragic death. Miss Forster said: "It is obviously still very early on for us all and every day we are trying to get used to the fact that we won't see Harriet again."

Now turning their attentions to fundraising, the family said they have found comfort in the many messages of support they have received.

Sophie added: "It really does help particularly in all the messages that we have been getting of support and love from total strangers.

"It has also been comforting to have something to do as a bit of a distraction."

So far, the fundraising pages have racked up £4,365 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance and £557.50 for the RNLI.

She added: "It is a relief that something so happy can come at such a horrible time and it is so fitting for Harriet – she just had so much love to give."

More than 200 people have helped raise funds to leave a lasting legacy for the youngster whose family describe her as 'the light of their lives'.

"She was just the coolest girl I knew, she always had time for everyone, keen to learn and so clever."

"She was definitely a character and just embraced everyone."

To donate in Harriet's memory go to tinyurl.com/y85nylpo and bit.ly/Harriet-RNLI