The heartbroken mother of a six-year-old girl who was killed when a holiday show went tragically wrong, has set up a programme of workshops for grieving parents.

Elli Galvani, 53, of Fencepiece Road, Barkingside, has decided to launch Begin to Heal, a series of free classes for those coping with the loss of a child, after her daughter, Eden, died in 2006 in Turkey after a fire show accident .

She set up the charity, Eden’s Trust, a year after Eden’s death to encourage the adoption of safety standards by tour operators and to raise awareness of personal safety.

After seeing her daughter suffer for two days in hospital, with 70 per cent burns, Ms Galvani wants to use her own experience to help other parents who have lost a child, to deal with their grief.

She said: “When Eden died people didn’t know what to say to me and would cross the road so they didn’t have to engage in conversation, as if I didn’t exist.

“I felt very alone as I had no close family to speak to.

“Dealing with the loss of a child is just unbearable and there is just no comparison. I want to help people to cope with the loss and come out the other side.”

The free sessions, which are funded through Ms Galvani’s charity, have been designed with help from a psychotherapist.

Ms Galvani, who hopes the sessions will be rolled out nationally, said: “It is about helping parents who have been bereaved for longer than three months, as before that you are still in shock.

“We want to help parents carry on with normal life as best as possible, and act as a support network.”

The workshops, which will run for 12 weeks at Wanstead House, The Green, Wanstead start today (Thursday) at 7pm.

For more information email info@edenstrust.org.uk.