BEREAVEMENT counsellors at the Great Western Hospital are hoping to set up a countywide charity to ensure grieving families receive the support they need through a deeply traumatic time.

Rebecca King and Helen Pepler, who run the Rainbow Club, a support group for children who have lost a loved one, recently started Butterflies, aimed not only at youngsters but their relatives or carers.

The four-week bereavement programme, set up with help from charity Child Bereavement UK in January, was designed to allow children and adults the opportunity to air complex feelings of anger or pain in a safe, judgment-free environment.

On the back of this success, the pair have embarked on a mission to create a brand new charity for Swindon and Wiltshire, Treehouse, with the help of other groups and partners to roll out more consistent and thorough bereavement support in communities and schools.

To make a donation towards the new charity email fundraising@gwh.nhs.uk.