A 10-year-old boy, who died in a freak accident climbing a tree, is being remembered for his beautiful soul.

Declan Halford died on Saturday in the accident on his home property in Northland’s Wheki Valley, west of Whangārei.

Police confirmed they attended a sudden death at a home in the area and it is not being treated as suspicious, but would not give more details about what might have happened.

Hato Hone St John ambulance was called to State Highway 14 at about 2pm, and responded with an ambulance and rapid response unit, a spokesperson said.

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A family friend, Nicola Van Lune, said the family are grieving after losing a “beautiful, kind-hearted little boy”.

His parents have five other children to care for and another on the way, Van Lune said.

She set up a Givealittle page to help the family, including covering funeral costs.

“[I] would love to be able to take some financial strain off the family, so they can just concentrate on getting each other through this next season and spending time together,” she said on the page.

The page had raised more than $13,000 by 1pm on Tuesday.

Funds will be used to cover any funeral costs, day-to-day family expenses and to supplement the family’s income so they can be freed up to spend time together.

Declan’s father, Luke Halford​, is a well-respected member of Culham Engineering, said operations manager Dave Cunningham​.

Team members have made a donation to the Givealittle page, and the family-friendly company is trying to support the Halfords through the tragedy, he said.

“It’s so sad for Luke and the family, our hearts go out to them, and we’ll rally around the family as best we can.”

The family has a video blog where they have been documenting their self-sufficiency lifestyle.