Phoebe’s gift of a roundabout is open and ready for action in Sale’s Moor Nook Park

Hundreds of people turned out in a Sale park to watch as a new roundabout was opened in honour of  little Phoebe Casson.

It would have been Phoebe’s fifth birthday today.  She died suddenly in September from a rare genetic illness called LPIN1.

“This playground in Moor Nook Park meant so much to her,” Claire Casson,Phoebe’s Mum, told the crowd. ”Other playgrounds didn’t compare, even though the previous roundabout was run down and needed replacing. It meant the world to her. It was Phoebe ‘s favourite place.”

Ralph, 54, and Claire, 44, Casson launched a  crowdfunding appeal to buy a new roundabout for the Norris Road park as a tribute to her.
Phoebe’s story touched the hearts of many people and there was a massive response to the appeal.

‘We want to thank all of you and people who gave money to the appeal. You have made this possible.  We hope that everyone will remember Phoebe, and use the new roundabout every day. Phoebe was the light of our lives.  She was a vibrant and fun little girl and loved to go to Moor Nook Park, or our park as she called it.

“We feel that this new roundabout would not only be a fitting tribute to our gorgeous girl, but would be enjoyed by all  for years to come.”
Phoebe first became ill when she was 17-months-old and when she was two she was diagnosed with the rare condition LPIN1, which affects 1 in 100,000 people.

She went to Stagecoach Drama School in Didsbury and attended Stalder Dance Academy in Sale.

Phoebe went to  Sale Private Day Nursery on Derbyshire Road South, and had just started at Lime Tree Primary Academy, on  Budworth Rd.
Claire, of Derbyshire Road South, added: “She was an incredibly active and confident little girl who would be so proud today.”