WHEN the Harvey family had a knock at the door early one September morning in 2005, the news from the police officers on their doorstep could not have been worse.

Their 18-year-old son Richard had been in a car accident just a few hours earlier and had died alongside his friend Ross Hodgkins at Crown East, near Worcester.

Faced with such a disaster, father Peter, mother Jackie and younger sister Charlotte, then aged 15, coped with their grief in different ways.

Mr Harvey, who lives in Helford Close, Ronkswood, Worcester, said: "I have been through quite a few deaths - my brothers, sister, mum and dad. I have always got through it. But this was completely different. We found it extremely hard.

"Charlotte was at a critical part in her school work. While the school was very good, we thought she was coping.

"We heard about Noah's Ark through a family friend who had had a chat with Charlotte and realised she wan't coping as well as we thought. She was being very strong for us. Our friend knew all about the trust but we had never heard about them.

"It initially just helped Charlotte but we got involved when she went on an activity weekend in Malvern. It was very emotional and made me realise I wasn't going to be able to cope on my own. But at the same time it was a lot of fun."

Mr Harvey, 58, said it helped him seeing she was having one-to-one sessions with bereavement co-ordinators and knowing that would continue as long as she wanted.

"It was a relief to know she was getting this support. Before that we didn't know how much she was hurting. We were hurting too much to know how much she was, too."

Charlotte, 17, now studying early years teaching at Worcester College of Technology, cannot praise the charity enough for the help it gave her over the weeks and months following Richard's death.

She said: "The weekend we had away was really great. There was a doctor there to help us understand how they died, which did really help. Sometimes you are told a word but don't quite understand it. So to be able to ask and know that you aren't going to upset anyone really helps."

She now, along with some friends, helps organise an annual cruise where owners of souped-up cars from all over the country gather, as both boys who died had been passionate about cars and took part in cruises.

Charlotte said: "The cruises do help and we do get the fire brigade and police involved. There is also someone from advanced driving there to talk about safer driving. It is nice to know tfhat everyone gathers to remember them."

Mr Harvey now helps fund-raise for the trust and has held a number of raffles and sponsored walks. He said: "It is our way of saying thanks."

Noah's Ark is working with your Worcester News to try to raise £1 million for a new base so bereaved families and children like the Harveys have somewhere to visit.

If you are touched by this story, please help in any way you can so the trust can continue it's vital, free work.