A NIGHT for the teenage girl found dead in woodland brought the community together.

Tributes were paid to Alicia Sidebotham on Thursday evening at an event held in her memory.

The special night, at her favourite nightclub in Wigan, raised £1500 for her funeral.

Miss Sidebotham, 19, was born in Billinge and lived in Hatton Garden, Atherton.

Her body was sadly found in a “secluded area” in Over Hulton woods on January 7.

Miss Sidebotham was a “beautiful” and “witty” music fan, who spent time enjoying the Indiependence club with her friends.

Venue DJ Dave Sweetmore organised and hosted a Night for Alicia to give friends the chance to remember her, inviting her favourite bands to play.

He said: “She was well into the music scene around Wigan and Manchester.

“The idea came about of doing a night. I spoke to her friends and found out her favourite bands. These are the bands she actually used to listen to when she was getting ready to go out.”

All entry fees added to the collection along with money from the raffle, which included donated prizes. The bands and staff worked for free.

He added: “The night was a huge success and a fitting tribute to Alicia. Around 150 of her friends turned up and helped raised an amazing £1500 to go towards Alicia’s funeral.

“The bands who played all paid their own tribute to Alicia, the night couldn’t have gone any better and was exactly how Alicia would’ve wanted it.”

Friends also took to the stage to express their thanks for the turnout and to share their memories of Miss Sidebotham.

Mr Sweetmore said: “It was full of mixed emotions, sad that Alicia wasn’t there, but happy as everyone remembered her.”

Going forward, Alicia’s favourite club will continue to pay tribute with a photo.

Mr Sweetmore said: “Her picture is now in place and will stay there forever.

“She loved Indiependence and the amount of friends who turned up on Thursday night shows how loved she was.

“Thank you to everyone who came. It was perfect.”