A BRIDPORT mother whose son died when he was 10 is setting up a bereavement support group for other parents who have lost children.

Janette Knight’s son Brett suffered a brain haemorrhage when he was nine.

He went from a normal, healthy boy to being desperately ill overnight.

He had brain surgery and it was discovered he had a brain tumour that had ‘burst’. He survived for a little more than a year.

It was a very challenging time, says Janette.

But she found help through a friend who had also lost her child.

Janette said: “We lived near Bristol then and a friend of mine who had also lost her son took me to a Compassionate Friends meeting and it was a lifeline.

“It just helped to be with people who had experienced the same thing, although everybody was different because children die from sudden death or illnesses or suicide, but they just know what you are going through.

“Immediately following the death of a child you get a lot of support from family and friends but then life goes on and it is just really helpful to have peer to peer support and friendship because you don’t really have to explain what you are going through.”

Janette and her husband moved to West Allington – largely because they had so many happy memories of family holidays here.

She said: “We moved to Bridport because we had a caravan at Seatown for many years and had lots of lovely memories of our son in the area so we moved here.”

It is coming up to the anniversary of Brett’s death 15 years ago this April and Janette wants to give back some of the support that helped her through her grief.

She said: “I got a lot of help and support from Compassionate Friends in Bristol but there is nothing in West Dorset.

“It is for parents, siblings and grandparents. It is not just a sad get together but if you have an anniversary of a death or things like Christmas, New Year and birthdays it can just be very hard.

“If you are with people who have experienced that it can help you and give you ideas or just listen to you talk about your child.

“Because people don’t know what to say they would rather say nothing. The most important thing if you lose a child is you don’t want them to be forgotten.

“People don’t want to say the wrong thing and upset somebody so they don’t say anything.”

Anyone who want to get involved can contact Janette on 01308 455626. The Compassionate Friends national helpline is 0845 1232304 or email helpline@tcf.org.uk