Text help for grieving pet owners

An animal charity in Nottinghamshire is giving a new form of help to people who find it difficult to cope with the loss of their pets.

The Pet Bereavement Support group in Mansfield Woodhouse is offering grieving owners a service via text.

Since May 1993 the charity has given phone advice and support all over the UK. It now offers a visiting service in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Founder Yvette Price-Mear said the text help would be valuable to teenagers.

"They will text me and say, 'I've lost so-and-so' and obviously teenagers are often at that funny age where they don't want face-to-face contact," she said.

"So I text them to-and-fro explaining the stages of grief that they're going through and how I can help them.

"It's worked really well actually and they've passed my number on to other friends."