FRIENDS of Natasha Clark, who sadly took her own life last May, have set up a gofundme page for a memorial bench which has raised nearly £3,000.

Jake Nicholl, along with some other of Natasha’s friends decided to raise funds for a memorial bench to sit in Hagley Park as a permanent reminder of her life.

The fundraising campaign has raised thousands in just over 24 hours.

Stourbridge News: The image was taken from Tash's prom night, where she is situated on the back left. The image was taken from Tash's prom night, where she is situated on the back left.

18-year-old Jake said: “We started the page yesterday and I wasn’t expecting to raise that much. I expected to raise £100, and we even had a google sheet full of fundraising plans to make up the extra costs, but we don’t need to do those now. We are still going ahead with one of our plans this Friday which is where all Haybridge Sixth Form students will be wearing purple as it was Tash’s favourite colour, and students will donate a £1.”

Natasha, also known as Tash by freinds, attended Haybridge High School along with Jake before she took her own life on May 23 of last year.

Jake added: “It has been nearly a year since what happened to Tash and we wanted to leave something permanent to stay in Hagley to remember her. We asked the family what they would prefer, a tree or a bench and it was decided we would raise funds for a bench.

Stourbridge News: Tash (who is in the middle of the back row) loved Harry Potter so the bench will have her name and a quote from the series: “The ones that love us never really leave us.” Tash (who is in the middle of the back row) loved Harry Potter so the bench will have her name and a quote from the series: “The ones that love us never really leave us.”

“The bench will cost around £400 to £500, so the rest of the money will go to Young Minds, which is a mental health charity.

“We choose this charity because mental health was so important to Tash. She was also an important part of our mental health as she always listened to us and she knew how much it mattered. It is what she would have wanted.”

Jake has written a heartfelt tribute to Tash on the gofundme page: “She was an amazing person, a loving friend and an important part of many people's lives. She was funny, caring and amazingly receptive if there was anything on our minds, and to see such a unique and incredible person go was heart breaking for us all.”

Tash loved Harry Potter so the bench will have her name and a quote from the series: “The ones that love us never really leave us.”

The friendship group have chosen Hagley park as they spent many hours chatting and having fun there.

To donate please visit the gofundme page for Tash’s memorial bench.