THE best friend of a 23-year-old woman who died suddenly over the weekend has said she ‘wishes she knew how loved she was.’

Nurse Jessica Duckworth died in the early hours of Sunday morning after falling from the Scammonden Bridge near Ripponden in West Yorkshire.

The former Burnley College student, who was originally from Padiham, had been living in Keighley, Yorkshire, at the time of her death.

Paying tribute to her best friend, Shaynie Green told the Lancashire Telegraph that Jessica ‘took a part of her heart when she left this world’.

Ms Green said: “I just can’t get my head around what has happened. She was my best friend and I just can’t believe I won’t get the chance to see her again.

“She was the most incredible person, always wanting to help others. She was working as a nurse and studying an Open University course too.

“It is incredible to see how many people have been paying tribute to her – so many want to try and help. It breaks my heart that she didn’t realise how loved she was.”

Jessica Duckworth, from Padiham, died in fall from Scammonden Bridge

Ms Green first met Jessica more than 10 years ago, when the pair both attended Shuttleworth College in Burnley.

Having just moved to Padiham from Essex, Ms Green said Jessica ‘immediately made her feel welcome’ and the pair had been best friends ever since.

She said: “I had travelled to Yorkshire the weekend before last to see her and we had a night out and a really good time. I’m just so glad we had that.”

Ms Green has now set-up a fundraising page for Jessica in a bid to raise enough money to giver he the ‘send-off she deserves’.

She said: “I can’t believe that this has to be done but it is just a little something to help give the beautiful, caring and inspiring Jessica the send-off that she deserves.”

Almost a hundred people have donated so far, with more than £1,500 of the £2,500 target raised. Hundreds more have paid tribute to the animal-lover posting pictures, videos and memories to her Facebook page.

Bunches of flowers can also be seen tied to the railings of Scammonden Bridge, where friends have travelled to today to remember her.

A section of the M62 was closed for more than three hours on Sunday as police and paramedics dealt with the incident.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire police said: “Police were called in the early hours of Sunday morning to reports of a concern for safety at Scammonden Bridge of the M62.

“A 23-year-old woman died at the scene and the motorway was closed while emergency services responded.

“The incident is not being treated as suspicious.”

Funeral details have yet to be released.

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