A teenager has praised a charity for giving him the will to live after his sister's death left him devastated.

Nathan Lord felt like he had lost everything when his beloved sister, Rachael, died suddenly on holiday in Tenerife. Thanks to bereavement charity The Laura Centre, he was saved from his anger, grief and suicidal thoughts.

Today, Nathan told how the centre had changed his life, to encourage people to help raise money for the charity, which needs £500,000 a year to pay for its counsellors.

Nathan, from Oadby, talked about the death of 24-year-old Rachael with counsellor Ranjit Phull.

He said: "The Laura Centre saved my life. I got everything off my chest and found I wasn't on my own."

Nathan's mother, Sandra, suggested the family go for bereavement counseling after Rachael's death in March. Nathan, who is studying at Leicester College, said: "We were such a close family, when we lost Rachael it left a massive hole. Our GP referred us to The Laura Centre.

"Whenever you talk to your parents about things such as this you worry about upsetting them, but with Ranjit I could talk and talk and there were no consequences. She helped put all my thoughts in perspective.

"I had closed up and got angry after Rachael died. I started doing stupid things – getting drunk, fighting with my friends or taking it out on my teachers at college. I felt so lonely."

After two months of weekly one-to-one sessions with Ranjit, Nathan moved on to group sessions with other teenagers. He said: "The greatest thing about the centre is that they say you can always go back. It's nice they don't just say 'Here's your therapy, now you're all done'. It is always there for you."

Rachael, who lived in Thorpe Astley, was days into a break in Tenerife with her boyfriend when she collapsed.

She had been under the care of heart specialists at Leicester General Hospital since the spring after suffering bouts of fainting, but the medical cause of her death remains unknown.

Gail Moore, who set up the centre in 1991 after losing her daughter, Laura, to leukaemia at the age of five, said: "The Laura Centre is a unique service. We're dealing with the rawest edge of grief, but we positively change lives.

"We need £500,000 every year to keep running with our eight counsellors. We need help.

"I'm particularly looking for business sponsors and 20 people to run the New York Marathon on our behalf in November."

Ring Gail on 07813 074188, the centre on 0116 254 4341, or go to:

www.thelauracentre.org.uk