HEXHAM Abbey's facade will be lit up in blue and pink on Tuesday to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Organised by mum-of-two Sarah Richardson, it's the second time the church has been lit up to mark the national campaign.

More than 100 landmarks around the country will be lit up in a similar manner at the same time.

Sarah's first babies - identical twin boys who were conjoined to the extent they shared organs – were stillborn in 2012.

She organised the light-up as a member of Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity. Sarah has undergone training through the charity to counsel others, after receiving support from the charity's Newcastle branch.

Sarah said: "The Abbey will be lit up between seven and eight o'clock in the evening.

"Families who have experienced the death of a baby can light a candle and spend some time in the Abbey.

"There will be some Abbey staff there if people need some support."

Rev. Janet Jackson, who will be at the service, added: "The Abbey is a place for the community to share its joys and sorrows.

"It is so right to open the Abbey specifically to those who have experienced the loss of a baby whose depths of sadness and pain is hard for most of us to imagine.

"We hope that in providing space for those affected, they will feel able to come along and light a candle, leave a message or a name, or simply be quiet and feel the peace that the Abbey provides.

"Sarah will be on hand for those who wish to talk and alongside her will be Abbey staff also available to listen."

Sands run more than 100 support groups around the country.

The Newcastle branch of Sands meets on the first Monday of every month, between 8pm and 9.30pm, in the community room at Tesco in Kingston Park.