Catherine Hickman killed in Camberwell blaze (From This is Hampshire)

Catherine Hickman killed in Camberwell blaze

4:30pm Monday 6th July 2009 in

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A TALENTED Hampshire fashion designer, who cheated death in the September 11 New York terror attack, was one of the victims of the London tower block inferno.

Catherine Hickman was one of six people who died after the blaze broke out on the 11th floor of the South London block of flats. A mother and her two young children also lost their lives as well as a three-week- old baby in Friday’s tragedy.

Catherine, 31, was a talented designer who had a glittering career in front of her and was about to be proposed to by her boyfriend.

Today her devastated Hampshire family paid tribute to “a talented and loveable” daughter.

Talking to the Daily Echo from their home, near Romsey, Catherine’s mum Flo – who is recovering from an operation to remove a brain tumour – wept as she said: “She was so special I just can’t put it into words. She was talented and loveable. It is just too hard.”

Her father Pip added: “She was just a wonderful girl, who never caused us any trouble. She will always be missed.”

Mr Hickman told how Catherine should not have been in her flat in Camberwell, South London, having planned to leave early that day to visit friends in Brighton.

He added that the former West Wellow and St Anne’s schoolgirl had had lucky escapes before. She had been due to hold a fashion show in New York’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

This weekend, Catherine was due to return to her family home in Shelley Lane, Ower, to celebrate her 32nd birthday.

Her family spoke fondly of how their daughter’s love of fashion started at an early age and she studied at Salisbury Art College and later at Winchester School of Art.

At 18 she left home and travelled all over the world working in Kuwait, New York and Iceland and setting up two fashion labels.

Most recently she was working at an exclusive boutique in Notting Hill, whose client list includes fashion icons Kylie Minogue, Paris Hilton and Claudia Schiffer.

When she was not putting together vintage clothes for the stars she would spend time with family and friends.

Mr Hickman added: “She loved what she did and she would go through Hello magazine pointing out the pieces she had helped design and make and then the next weekend she would be helping her sisters alter their clothes. There was nothing she couldn’t do. She loved where she worked and was starting to do more and more stuff independently.

“She was always a mummy’s girl when she was little. She was quiet and would like to stay in with us and watch old films.”

Looking through photo albums, her two younger sisters Sophie and Liz said they would remember holidays and horse-riding as kids, her taste in 80s music and her dry sense of humour.

Sophie, 27, said: “She was so funny and always making us laugh without meaning to. When we were little she was always looking after us.”

Liz, 30, said: “She was talented, kind and caring. Nobody could say anything bad about her.”

Boyfriend was about to propose

CATHERINE’S heartbroken boyfriend has told how he was planning to propose to her, describing her as a “living angel”.

Hair stylist Mark Bailey was in New York when he took a phone call to say the block of flats where his girlfriend lived was on fire.

Mr Bailey, who lives and works in London, said: “I was devastated when I realised she had died. She was a living angel.

“She had strong, deep oldfashioned morals and values which you don’t find with most people these days.

“She really didn’t have a bad bone in her body and she was the only girl I had ever trusted implicitly.

“She wasn’t boring or a goodie two shoes but she was so generous and kind and patient.

“Everyone who met her fell in love with her and my friends were telling me I should marry her.

“I had made up my mind to propose when I got back from my trip to New York.

Cat had no idea – it was going to be a surprise.”

Mr Bailey said he last saw Catherine on Wednesday when they kissed and hugged and said farewell at a London tube station.

The pair had met five years ago in a London bar.