A FATHER is keeping his daughter's memory alive by dedicating his new restaurant to her.

Maya Ashpool had multiple physical disabilities at birth and died suddenly aged 17 last year. The teenager was a great inspiration to her father Jeremy, who says the restaurant at Borde Hill House, Haywards Heath, will be a way of helping to celebrate her life. Jeremy's will open on Good Friday, April 10, one day after the first anniversary of Maya's death. Jeremy, 48, of Sydney Road, Haywards Heath, who also owns the Crabtree, in Lower Beeding, which he opened in 1991, said: "Maya was a familiar face to regular customers. "She adored food and was very interested in the business. "She used to sit in the kitchen and enjoy aromas and tasting things. "She was a great inspiration to all the family and always loved to be involved in everything that was going on around her. "She would have loved the idea of the restaurant being dedicated to her. "It is a way of keeping her close to the family. She was an example to us all."

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