THERE is no loss comparable to losing a child. It is undoubtedly the cruellest form of bereavement - for when a young person is suddenly taken away, a lifetime of unfulfilled potential also dies with them. It is this factor that makes the agony all the worse for those who are left.

The parents of Kelly Rice know only too well about this. They lost their daughter in a car crash during the summer and the awfulness of the tragedy was compounded by the fact that Kelly was on her way to pick up the A-level results that would have held the key to her future. Fate had dealt, in double measure, an almost unimaginably cruel blow.

But Kelly's parents can surely take heart from today's story about how their daughter's dream is being turned into reality. A fund to help African orphans has been set up in memory of the Worcestershire 18-year-old, thus initiating the work that Kelly had hoped to start herself.

This is down to fund-raiser Clint Varndall, who was so impressed by Kelly's enthusiasm and idealism that he's decided to pick up the torch to raise cash for children in far-off Kenya. The Worcester News applauds his efforts and wishes him every success.

We imagine that Kelly's family will still be very much immersed in their grief, for the wounds of their loss will inevitably be raw. But this newspaper urges the Rice family to take heart in the light of Mr Varndall's efforts and perhaps - when the pain has just slightly lessened - might reflect that Kelly will leave such a legacy that part of her will live for evermore.