Two Norfolk mothers whose children died in road crashes are starting a support group next month to help others who are bereaved and gone through the same suffering.

Two Norfolk mothers whose children died in road crashes are starting a support group next month to help others who are bereaved and gone through the same suffering.

The monthly drop-in centre will be based at Dereham Fire Station and provide friends and relatives of crash victims with a support network and information on help available.

It is the idea of Liz Voysey and Bridget Wall, who have also been spearheading a campaign to get ministers to introduce tougher sentences for drivers who cause collisions.

Mrs Voysey's 19-year-old daughter, Amy Upcraft, was killed on the A47 in March 2004 and Bridget Wall, from Swaffham, lost her son, Adam, 24, in a crash on the A47 in 2002.

Mrs Voysey, from Dereham, said: “Losing someone in a traffic crash is such a shock and we found there was a big gap in support for bereaved families of road crash victims.

“At last November's Norwich Cathedral service for road crash victims a lot of people said it helped to be with others going through the same things because unless you have lost someone in a car crash it is very difficult to understand. We are not counsellors but our group will be a place where people can meet up, share their experiences and help each other.”

Mrs Voysey's husband George is also involved in the group as well as Jackie Warby whose husband Stephen, 49, was killed in a collision with a Dutch lorry on the A134 in March 2006.

Ever since then Mrs Warby, from Stowbridge, near Downham Market, has been campaigning for changes to the law to improve the regulation of foreign vehicles and drivers on British roads.

The group hopes to offer talks from charities including Roadpeace, Brake and Cruse as well as more light-hearted taster sessions in activities like aromatherapy and reflexology.

“We'd like to hear from anybody who would like to help us, whether they are counsellors trained to deal with trauma or people like aromatherapists who can offer the “feelgood factor,” said Mrs Voysey. “Once you have lost someone in this way you are never the same person again. I hope we can help people and maybe also put pressure on the NHS to provide more help because at the moment as a bereaved group we are dismissed.”

The group is initially expected to meet one Tuesday a month from 7pm to 9pm but dates are to be confirmed.

For more information contact Mrs Voysey at 280 Norwich Road, Dereham, NR20 3AY, tel 01362 697617, or e-mail liz@derehome01.demon.co.uk. Mrs Wall's contact details are 5 Victory Road, Downham Market, PE38 9RU, tel 01366 382433 or e-mail bridget@

wall3278.fsnet.co.uk.