A broadcaster whose wife died violently and the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire shared their experiences of loss at a dinner to mark the first anniversary of a county charity for bereaved children.

BBC producer Jeremy Howe, whose wife Lizzie was killed at their South Oxford home in July 1992, and Lady McLintock spoke about how their families had been affected by the death of a close relative.

They were at a dinner at Eynsham Hall, near Witney, to mark the first year of SeeSaw, which provides support for young people across the county who have lost a mother, father or sibling.

The charity was set up after a report commissioned by Sobell House Hospice in Oxford, which looks after terminally ill patients.

It was discovered that about 1,500 under-18s were bereaved in the county each year, but help groups focused on partners and adult relatives.

Lady McLintock said her elder brother Hugh never fully recovered from the death of his six-year-old brother before she was born.

Mr Howe told how struggling to cope with his grief after his wife's death and care for his daughters, Jessica and Lucy, then six and four, left little time for him to ponder how they were being emotionally affected.

He said: "To them, it must have been like an unfathomable nightmare. "

He and Lady McLintock praised SeeSaw for providing a valuable service.

SeeSaw is based at Bush House, Merewood Avenue, Headington and can be contacted on 01865 744768.