Lloyd Morris went through nine months of hell after his depressed wife decided she could no longer carry on living.

The 48-year-old last saw his wife, Mandy, when he left their home in Southwick to go on a business trip last October. He said goodbye as usual before spending an enjoyable day go-karting in Birmingham.

He called his wife during the day to check on her and she told him she felt very depressed before he lost his temper and told her she would have to pull herself together. Lloyd turned off his telephone but had no idea it would be the last time he would ever speak to her.

It was not until Lloyd arrived back at their home in Old Shoreham Road later that day that he found she had hanged herself. He said: "What happened is a bit of a blur. All I know is I flew up the stairs. I carried her to the bedroom and tried to revive her even though I knew it was useless and I called an ambulance."

"The police turned up and I gave them a statement. Looking back, Mandy was a classic clinical depressive but she always had a fear of doctors and hospitals."

After the tragedy, Lloyd says his first thought was to follow Mandy's example and take his own life but then he realised he could not put his family though such an ordeal again. He decided his only option was to pick himself up and carry on living but he still dreams he will wake up and find the tragedy of his wife's death has all been a horrible dream.

"The first thing I had to realise was that I couldn't have done anything to stop what happened. I kept thinking, 'If only I hadn't gone to Birmingham,' or, 'If only I hadn't shouted at her on the phone'.

"What all survivors of bereavement by suicide have to realise is that at the moment a person takes their own life, for whatever reason, their logic is different from normal logic and everything else is blanked out.

Wanting his life to return to normal as soon as possible, Lloyd returned to work less than three weeks after Mandy's death, though he says: "I have come to accept my life will never be the same again.

Lloyd and Mandy fell in love at first sight 23 years ago when she came to work as receptionist at the firm where he was working. After her suicide, Lloyd initially Lloyd sought help from support groups such as Survivors of Suicide but found there was no help in the Sussex area designed specifically for those left behind.

"SOS is a very good group but but it just wasn't the right group for me. I very quickly realised there needed to be something in this area because I needed to speak to people who had been through the same thing as me."

Suicide is not as rare as many people think. An estimated 15,000 people a year take their own lives, about three quarters of them men or boys. In December, Lloyd heard about Solihull-based Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide and quickly decided to set up a Sussex branch.

He said: "It is only months since I lost Mandy but I know it is the right time to set this up because I don't want other people who go through what I have not to have anyone to talk to. I have been lucky because my work colleagues, my family and Mandy's family have been very supportive and I can talk to Mandy's mother and twin sister, who know how I feel.

The first meeting of Lloyd's group took place two weeks ago and he has been inundated with calls from people who have lost loved ones.

He said: "The police and the coroner's officers who dealt with Mandy's death were great but they had nowhere to refer someone like me for help. Now they have my helpline number to give out to people who need it and I have distributed cards to funeral directors."

The idea of the group is for people to attend the monthly meetings when and if they need to to talk to others in a similar position who will understand what they are going through.

If you think SOBS could help you, call the helpline on 0771 8056561.