Hockey girl dies in her sleep days after England call-up

A devastated father today paid tribute to his "loving and beautiful" daughter who mysteriously died in her sleep only days after being called up to play for the England hockey team.

Schoolgirl international Emma Broad was found by her mother Judy on Sunday morning after she went into her daughter's bedroom to wake her.

Today her father, Phil Broad, the former managing director of coffee chain Starbucks in the UK and Ireland, spoke of his pride in what the 16-year-old had achieved.

"It's something no one can ever imagine - losing a child," he said. "I will never understand why someone so young had to be taken away from us like this.

"We had a big family do three or four weeks ago for her uncle. She made a speech to all the family. That would be their lasting memory of her but at least they saw her recently. You will never comprehend something so tragic.

"I have no one lasting memory of her. It was all of her. I was so proud of her."
Ambulance crews raced to the family home in Weybridge, Surrey, but Emma was pronounced dead soon after they arrived. It is thought she died in her sleep.

Emma, who attended £4,900-a-term St George's College in Addlestone, was one of the leading young hockey players in the country and was expected to go on to play at the highest level.
"She took to the hockey pitch and everyone could see she had talent but she honed her skills too," Mr Broad said. "She trained at Surbiton Club - it has a fantastic reputation.

"My wife would leave here at 5.30am to be there for 7am. It's the thing you do as parents. She was just 10 years old when she started playing.
"She was a dedicated person who loved sport. People recognised that she was amazing.
"She just had a beautiful character. She was organised, competent and knew what she wanted out of life."

Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious. An inquest is due to open in the next few days.