A DEVASTATED father has told how he found his 16-year-old daughter lying dead in the road just a mile from their home.

Melanie Lisa Mullally is thought to have run across the road outside her grandmother's house in Front Street, Broom Lane, near Durham City, when she was hit by a car.

Her father, Patrick Mullally, said: "She went to her grandmother's at tea time. The next thing, we got a phone call from her friend, saying she had been hit by a car.

"I went down and she was lying in the road. I could not find her pulse and I knew she was dead."

The accident happened at 7.30pm on Saturday, on the B6302 two miles west of Durham.

Her grandmother, Muriel Lowther, said: "I usually come to the door with her, give her a kiss and tell her to watch out for the road when she crosses. This time she just slipped out and I didn't get the chance to say goodbye." Melanie, the second of nine children, was a GCSE pupil at Deerness Valley Comprehensive and had been preparing to go to Durham Sixth Form College.

Melanie's mother, Tracy, said Melanie had only just started enjoying a normal teenage life after battling epilepsy.

"She began having epileptic fits when she was 13 and they were very hard to control," said Mrs Mullally. "She had been very restricted and had not been able to do a lot of the things a normal teenager would do."

Melanie was an animal lover and was making her way home to take a neighbour's dog for a walk when she died.

Mrs Mullally said: "She was a homebird who lived for her brothers and sisters and her animals."

Her parents told of how she rescued an abandoned three-legged cat. Mr Mullally said: "Two years ago, someone threw a stray cat over our wall at Christmas.

"Santa Claus was bringing Melanie and her sister a keyboard, but Melanie said she would rather have the cat. She cared for it, nursed it and it has been with us ever since.

"She was a kind, lovely girl and was very popular. We are devastated, as is everyone on the estate."

Police believe Melanie was running across the road when she was struck by a blue Vauxhall Nova car travelling west.

The driver, a 22-year-old man from Brandon, near Durham, and his 16-year-old girl passenger from Langley Moor, were uninjured.

An inquest into Melanie's death was adjourned on Wednesday.

A funeral service will take place on Saturday at St Luke's Church, Ushaw Moor at 10.30am.

Officers are appealing for witnesses to call (0191) 375 2159, or (0191) 386 4929.

The accident happened days after cyclist Kevin Frater, of Whitehouse Moor, Ushaw Moor, was killed on the road between Bearpark and Ushaw College.