Cowling teenager's tribute to twin sister and dad (From Craven Herald)

Cowling teenager's tribute to twin sister and dad

9:00am Friday 28th September 2012 in News

A teenager who lost her twin sister and dad in a car crash has marked the tenth anniversary of the tragedy by fundraising for a national charity for bereaved children.

Sophie Thomas, of Cowling , was just five years old when her beloved sister Louise and dad Michael died in a smash involving their car and a lorry on April 5, 2002, on the M27 motorway in Hampshire.

This year, the 16-year-old launched The Pebble Garden - a personal fundraising project in aid of Winston’s Wish, a national charity for bereaved children.

She has painted and varnished more than 1,000 pebbles with simple words and pictures such as “wish”, “smile” and “believe”, which she is selling to friends, family and the public.

She said: “My twin sister Louise died five days before our sixth birthdays and my dad Michael died in the same accident aged 40. I received support from Winston’s Wish to help cope with both bereavements and felt this was a good way of giving something back.”

And, in just two months, she has raised more than £1,000 for the charity and plans to continue her Pebble Garden project while studying for her A-levels.

Sophie, who has a brother Dan, 14, step-sister Grace, 10 and half-sister Saskia, seven, moved to Cowling with her mum Claire Daly eight years ago from their former family home in London. The former pupil of South Craven School in Cross Hills , spent the summer selling pebbles at weekly craft fairs at Skipton Town Hall and also had a stall at a country show and a supermarket.

She said: “This is quite a landmark year for me and I didn’t want to feel I was leaving Louise behind. I have just taken my GCSEs and am starting my A-levels at a new school, so am moving on to the next stage of my life. Launching The Pebble Garden project has helped me to keep Louise’s memory alive and supports Winston’s Wish to help other bereaved children.

“Nothing can ever fill the void and heal the grief at losing Louise; she will always be my twin sister and still is, even though she’s not here. But for me The Pebble Garden is a tribute to her and is something I will continue to do for as long as people want to buy my pebbles.”

For more information on The Pebble Garden project or to buy pebbles visit facebook.com/pebblesinthepost.