SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has partnered with Scotty's Little Soldiers, a charity supporting military children who have lost a parent.

An estimated 2,100 experience this loss annually.

Scotty’s Little Soldiers was founded by Nikki Scott, after the death of her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, in 2009 to help children like their two, Brooke and Kai.

It provides activities, guidance for carers, bereavement support, and education opportunities for children and young people up to the age of 25.

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To help raise awareness, SWR has placed posters at their stations and will have special announcements from Mrs Scott about the charity.

On August 5, SWR received the Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, which recognises SWR’s commitment to the Armed Forces and veterans.

Peter Williams, customer and commercial director of South Western Railway, said: "We’ve been really inspired by Nikki’s story and the stories of the children and young people Scotty’s Little Soldiers has helped since it was founded 14 years ago.

"Experiencing the death of a parent at a young age is devastating, so we are proud to have Scotty’s Little Soldiers as one of our official charity partners and to help raise awareness of the fantastic work they do to support bereaved military children.

"We hope that this campaign will help them reach their goal of supporting 1,000 children and young people a year by 2030."

Mrs Scott said: "Thank you so much to South Western Railway for supporting Scotty’s Little Soldiers by helping to raise awareness of our work.

"We currently provide support to over 700 children and young people who have experienced the death of a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. With support from South Western Railway, we hope to be able to help many more bereaved military young people."