A bereaved mother has set up a charity to help other families devastated by similar tragedies pay for a lasting memorial to their children.

Karen Murray-Tye, 32, a former Hellesdon High School pupil, has set up Hana's gift in memory of her daughter who was stillborn.

Mrs Murray-Tye, who has two other children, Eloise, three, and Connor, one-and-a-half, said she was so affected by her own tragedy that she wanted to do something to help other people in similar situations. She said: 'Hana was my first child and six months into the pregnancy I realised something wasn't right. The midwife tried to find a heartbeat but couldn't so got a doctor to come and do a scan. As soon as I saw Hana's little body on the screen, I knew she'd already gone.

'I then had to go home and return to the hospital to be induced and Hana Elise entered the world looking like a perfect but tiny little angel. I got to spend the night in hospital with Hana and leaving her the next day broke my heart. The pain is still strong, but at least I have my keepsakes, photos and memories.'

That was back in 2006 and since then Mrs Murray-Tye has been working on establishing a project to help and support families which have suffered the loss of a young baby or child.

The aim is to provide financial assistance to parents with the cost of memorials for their children and also provide memory boxes.

She said: 'A memorial costs so much money and I've heard of so many parents who, a few years later, still haven't been able to do that for their child.'

Mrs Murray-Tye, who lives with her husband Paul in Aylsham, said they started fundraising before launching the project to ensure they had money available to help people from the start.

She said the project would initially help those who had suffered the loss of a baby up to 12 months old. She said: 'At the moment it's for anyone who has lost a child up to the age of a year, primarily because it costs a lot of money, but I'm hoping that one day we will be able to help any child. Anyone can come to me who needs help even if they've lost a baby five years ago.'

A fundraising night has been organised for the charity at Thorpe Social Club on Yarmouth Road, Thorpe St Andrew, opposite the Griffin pub on Friday, December 10 from 7.30pm.

Tickets for the Christmas Quiz night and raffle are priced at �10 per team (maximum of six per team).

To attend the quiz night or to find out more about the charity, call Mrs Murray-Tye on 07968143651 or log on to www.hanasgift.com/

Has a personal tragedy inspired you? Call Peter Walsh on 01603 772436 or email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk