A group of siblings have set up a fund in honour of their parents who died 10 years ago to help young people deal with bereavement.

Alan, who was 53 and 51-year-old Rochelle Bernard died back in 2010 after they were hit by a car as they walked to their holiday home in Poole located in Sandbanks.

The couple, who lived in Northwood with their children, died at the scene.

On the 10th anniversary of their death, their children James, Robbie and Natasha have set up a fund to help young people deal with the loss of a loved one.

Robbie, who was 24 at the time of the incident recalled the moment of when he found out about his parents.

Robbie said: "I woke up to a call at about three in the morning. I was with my girlfriend at the time and I was hearing my sister hysterically crying.

"The police officer had to be put on the phone to tell me what happened. It felt like a dream or a movie.

"For the past 10 years it has been extremely difficult especially as we lost our parents in that way."

Robbie added that after their death him and his older brother, James, who was 27 at the time, had to immediately take charge of the family construction  business called Plus Rooms and also make financial decisions.

Watford Observer:

Rochelle and Alan Bernard. Credit: Robbie Bernard

Robbie added: “We had to be able to support ourselves and fight for the family business and become family guardians for Natasha, who was 16 doing her A-levels.

“We were brought up around the business, it’s in our DNA. We would always go out to work with my dad.”

But Robbie said this did allow him and his siblings to “distract” themselves from the grief they were experiencing.

Robbie said as a result of this incident he grew closer with siblings as they supported each other and were guided by friends and family members.

Despite this he said him and his siblings didn’t speak about the incident with each other and how they felt, instead they spoke about memories.

He added: “We never talked about it together and we didn’t received counselling or help and we have repressed it to an extent. But we do talk about funny stories we remember.

“As devastating as the death has been for us, we have always felt extremely lucky to have each other and we have grown closer trying to fil the void for one another whenever possible.”

Robbie and his siblings have set up the Rochelle and Alan Bernard Fund to help young people have the support they need.

The fund will be used to provide financial support to young people who have lost their parents and the fund is in partnership with the charity Norwood.

He added: “Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have the support network we had and we want to try and help these people in some way.

“We will be looking at specific circumstances of young people experiencing parental loss. We will work hard to support them with the money from the fund combined with our own personal experiences and efforts to help them navigate the difficult journey they are facing.”

To donate go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/