The funeral of one of the girls who jumped to her death from Erskine Bridge last week will be held on Tuesday
Neve Lafferty, 15, died after she leapt more than 100ft from the bridge with her 14-year-old friend Georgia Row. Her service will take place at the St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Helensburgh.
Neve and Georgia were residents of the Good Shepherd Centre in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, which is located a few miles from the bridge. The centre is a residential school for girls aged 12-18 with emotional, social and behavioral difficulties.
It was reported the teenagers had spent a happy weekend with relatives before they sneaked out of the centre just before 9pm on Sunday, October 4, and travelled to the bridge.
The girls had met each other only eight weeks before they decided to end their lives together.
Neve was mourning the death of her boyfriend, who died earlier this year, when she committed suicide. Last week, her mother Colette Bysouth said she was "extremely close" with her.
She added: "I love my daughters with all of my heart and regardless of all the negative issues that plagued my eldest daughter's life, this never changed. Never. They are my world.
"There are no words in this universe to describe how we feel, but now I can honestly say I now realise exactly how Neve was feeling since the death of her boyfriend Johnny.
"For a child to feel like this is the worst and cruellest emotion to experience and a very difficult one to live with. I just wish she had opened up more and accepted the extent of counselling that she needed."
On Sunday, it emerged that there have been more than 232 incidents of absconding from the Good Shepherd Centre in 2008. The Care Commission, who confirmed the figures, said that many of the incidents were repeat cases involving the same girls.
Last updated: 13 October 2009, 10:38
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