Widowed parents set up charity to help the bereaved

Abby Lever and Jamie Davey pictured with their collective children Poppy, Ayla, Florrie and Lillia.

Two widowed parents have set up a charity to help others that have been through similar bereavements.

Abby Lever, 30, and Jamie Davey, 37, lost their partners just five weeks apart in late-2020.

They met after Jamie reached out to Abby on Facebook to offer his sympathy.

Now they want to support other parents and children who have lost loved ones - through their charity Wiltshire Moon and Stars - which aims to "help people feel less alone".

Abby Lever with her husband Ewen and their daughters Ayla and Poppy.

Mrs Lever's husband Ewen died in a car accident on his way to work on the A361 near Burford, Oxfordshire on 9 December, 2020.

They have two children, Ayla aged four and 11-month-old Poppy.

Mrs Lever, from Swindon, Wiltshire, said: "Ewen went to work one day, said goodbye to me and my two girls, said he loved us and then had a car accident.

"We've been trying to face life on our own since then.

'I lost my life'

"We'd been together since I was 14. We had 15 years together - so basically my life. I lost my life.

"For the first few weeks afterwards - I just remember being on the living room floor.

"I just felt so alone. I just didn't know how I was going to get through it."

She said that Mr Davey, who is also from Swindon, contacted her on Facebook, explaining that his wife had also died recently and he knew exactly how she was feeling.

They began chatting and have since become good friends.

"It was the best lifeline I'd ever had at that point because nobody else could understand how I was feeling but he could," she said.

'Very lonely place'

"He knew what it was like to be alone but to also be alone with children."

Mr Davey said he messaged Abby when he was in a "very lonely place" after his partner had taken her own life.

"I'd just lost Kelly five weeks before. I basically offered to be a friend and said if she needed to talk I'd be there.

"I didn't have much advice but I thought: 'I know what you're going through'.

Mr Davey and his partner Kelly Price had been together for 17 years and have two daughters together, Lillia, 12 and Florrie, six.

Jamie Davey, 37, pictured with his daughter Lillia, 12, Kelly, and their youngest daughter Florrie.

"Nobody really knows what to say to you in those circumstances and anything they do say just kind of feels a bit empty," said Mr Davey.

"But obviously speaking to somebody else who is going through the same thing did help me too.. it still is helping."

'A little community'

Mrs Lever and Mr Davey came up with the idea of creating a "little community of support", after seeing the benefits of bringing their families together.

Mrs Lever said: "The girls just play together constantly. They draw pictures of their mummy in the stars and my little girl draws pictures of her daddy on the moon.

"You never want any child to grow up with just one parent, but it's really nice that they've got each other.

"We were just looking at our children, thinking they need a lot of social support - like building friendships with people like them that have been through the same experience and that's where the idea stemmed from."

Wiltshire Moon and Stars aims to support solo parents and children under 16 who have suffered the loss of a parent by organising social events and gatherings.

"It's not a professional charity, it's a social one. It's for anyone who finds themselves in exactly the same position as we do. So they feel less alone", Mr Davey said.

They will be raising money for the charity by taking part in a sponsored skydive on 5 September.

• If you, or someone you know, have been affected by mental health issues, the BBC Action Line. has details of organisations that may be able to help.