A teenager who lost her twin sister and her father in a car crash will mark the ten-year anniversary of the tragedy by fundraising for a national charity for bereaved children.

Sophie Thomas, of Cowling , near Keighley , was just five when her beloved sister Louise and dad Michael died in a smash involving their car and a lorry on April 5, 2002, on a contraflow on the M27 motorway in Hampshire.

This year, the 16-year-old has launched The Pebble Garden – a personal fundraising project in aid of Winston’s Wish – a national charity for bereaved children.

She has painted and varnished more than 1,000 pebbles with simple words and pictures such as ‘wish’, ‘smile’ and ‘believe’ which she is selling.

She said: “My twin sister Louise died five days before our sixth birthdays and my dad Michael died in the same accident aged 40. I received support from Winston’s Wish to help cope with both bereavements and felt this was a good way of giving something back.”

And in just two months the fundraiser has collected £1,000 for the charity and plans to continue her project while studying for her A levels.

Sophie, who has a brother Dan, 14, step-sister Grace, ten, and half-sister Saskia, seven, moved to Cowling with her mother Claire Daly eight years ago from London.

Sophie, a former pupil at South Craven School in Cross Hills , spent the summer selling pebbles at craft fairs at Skipton Town Hall and has also held stall at shows and a supermarket.

She said: “This is quite a landmark year for me and I didn’t want to feel I was leaving Louise behind. The pebbles seem to go down well because they are very simple but very meaningful and can be given to a loved one or friend as a small token with a big meaning.”

For more, visit facebook.com/pebblesinthepost or see Sophie’s blog at thepebblegardenproject.blogspot.co.uk.