Girl's ashes taken on round-the-world sailing race

The ashes of a seven-year-old girl who died in a road accident have reached the halfway point on a round-the-world sailing trip in her memory.

Eloise was killed in a collision with a lorry while cycling on the A338 in Wiltshire in July 2021.

Her ashes are being carried on a 70ft (21m) racing yacht named in her honour. It recently reached Subic Bay in the Philippines, having won the most recent leg of the Clipper Round The World Race from Australia.

Eloise's mother Laura said the family had been closely following the yacht's progress, and that the ashes had "spurred the crew" on.

"This section [involved] lots of sea sickness, a broken spinnaker, a broken boom, which has obviously really set them back," she said.

"So up until now, they were really trailing behind."

Laura, from Collingbourne Ducis near Marlborough, continued: "[The crew] spent Christmas in Australia [and faced] lots of and lots of challenges, but they managed to overcome all of those, so we're immensely proud of them.

"She is a very vital part of their whole mission."

The crew often make contact with the family and give updates via Instagram.

Laura said the journey was a fitting memorial.

"We're living vicariously through this experience and all the footage that we're receiving, we're able to experience what she's experiencing.

"They've got a little part of her on that boat, and it enables her legacy to live on."

The yacht is now on its way to China and is due to arrive back in the UK in the summer.

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