Online fundraiser and petition gain support for Bella

An online fundraiser set up to help a young girl’s family after she was involved in a collision with a car has topped £2,000.

Nine-year-old Bella Evans suffered serious injuries in the incident earlier this month on Mottram Road, Godley, and was initially left in a coma in hospital.

The incident happened at 4pm on Wednesday, March 5.

In the days following family friend Emma Cooper set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of Bella’s family.

“Many people want to support Bella and her family and she is going to be in hospital for a while,” said Emma.

“So I wanted to take the pressure off her mum and dad having to worry about bills and hotel costs and just concentrate on Bella,” she added.

To date the fundraiser stands at £2,140 with 117 donations having been made. Further donations will be gratefully received and can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/bella-evans 

Separately an online petition has been created in a call for a zebra crossing to be installed on Mottram Road, Godley, plus a plea to reduce the speed limit on the stretch of road to 20mph. 

To date more than 1,500 people have signed the petition which can be found at https://www.change.org/p/institute-a-zebra-crossing-on-mottram-road-hyde-for-child-safety

Following the collision a 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was bailed pending further enquiries, with police appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident, near to Godley Off Licence, to come forward. 

They are also keen to speak to anyone who may have any footage, including dashcam, or mobile phone footage from the area in the moments leading up to the collision.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 2211 of 05/03/25.

Information can also be shared using GMP’s ‘report’ tool or LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.