FAMILY and friends have paid tribute to a ‘lovely and kind’ teenage girl who died after being trampled by her horse.

Elizabeth Colton, 13, was tending the animal in a field, owned by her parents, in Garsdale when the accident happened.

It is believed she tripped, startling the horse, which then trod on her stomach with one hoof, causing serious injuries.

Elizabeth was flown to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary by the North West Air Ambulance within minutes of the incident on Friday, but died on the operating table later that day.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said the death was being treated as a ‘tragic accident’.

Elizabeth's grandmother, who did not want to be named, said Elizabeth ‘was loved greatly by her family'.

"She was the world's loveliest girl. Elizabeth was an incredibly kind and considerate girl.

"She was very bright and happy. She was very close and loved her two sisters.

"We are extremely proud of Elizabeth, who always wanted to do things for others; and her whole family will miss her very much. She will never be forgotten.

“We're completely devastated – it's a tragedy. She died petting a horse she loved. It wasn't the horse's fault, it was an accident."

Elizabeth, a pupil of Settlebeck School in Sedbergh, has sisters Alexandra, 15, and Isabel, 9.

Her grandmother added that she had just completed her Chief Scout’s gold award – an 'amazing achievement for a 13-year-old'.

Special prayers were said at both Garsdale Methodist Church and St John's Baptist Church, Garsdale, on Sunday.

The vicar of St John's, the Rev Alan Fell, said he had spent a lot of time with her parents, John and Annette, since the 'tragic event.'

“Obviously any death under these circumstance is sad, but she had a tremendous amount going for her with a lot of time ahead, and we all feel a great loss,” he said.

“She was very, very likeable, a kind child, who was very thoughtful.

“Her parents are utterly shocked, they cannot say much.

"The whole community is respectful of that fact and although everyone’s thoughts are very close to the family we are all leaving them to grieve."

Mr Fell has offered to provide special support to pupils at Settlebeck School, where Elizabeth was in Year Eight, and Sedbergh Primary School, where she had previously been a pupil..

Judith Bush, who runs both an orchestra club at Sedbergh Primary School and a church drama club called Chameleon, said Elizabeth, who was active in both, was a 'lovely girl'.

"She was a thinker. She was a lovely girl; quiet, sensible and rather serious."

Mike Roper, of Garsdale, whose son was in the same year as Elizabeth, said the whole community was really shocked by the tragedy.

"There are only 18 children in Garsdale so everyone is feeling it," said Mr Roper.

Andrew Coates, who works on a farm next door to the Colton's, said his daughter sat on the school bus with Elizabeth and he often saw her running over the nearby fells.

"She was full of life; a very happy girl," said Mr Coates. "My daughter was in tears when she found out."

Neighbour Iris Scarr, 88, said: "It's a tragedy. I can't remember anything like this ever happening here before."

Elizabeth's parents run Lucid Training Centre, in Garsdale, a fibreoptic training company.

It is understood the family has two horses and Elizabeth, who had grown up around horses, was confident with them.

As well as enjoying horse riding, Elizabeth also took part in netball and fell running events, attended a church club in Sedbergh and played the clarinet.

She was very creative and loved cooking and baking, but was planning to study medicine.

A spokesman from The Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents said statistics for 2009 in England and Wales showed only nine people died after being bitten or struck by an animal (not including dogs), with the majority of incidents involving cows.

A date for the funeral has not yet been set. The coroner for south and east Cumbria has been informed.