“I FEEL like a part of me has died.”

Those are the emotional words of the twin sister of a late Andover man after she conquered her fear of heights in his memory.

Lorraine Nolan, 47, signed up to take part in a charity sky dive earlier this year in honour of her brother Laurence, who suffered brain damage after being brutally attacked seven years ago.

Laurence opened the door of his Atholl Court flat on February 19, 2007 to armed robbers, who callously assaulted the father-of-four, leaving him requiring roundthe- clock care.

But on August 29 this year, before Lorraine could complete her 10,000-feet challenge, Laurence tragically died, making her fund raising drive for brain injury charity Headway even more poignant.

Lorraine, of Brentwood, Essex, said: “Laurence had a lot of friends, he was a very popular man and I think he lived life to the full as much as he could.

“He was kind and helpful, a people person and a proud person. He loved his family a lot.

“The attack took his life away from him.”

Following the attack Laurence became wheelchair bound and never spoke again. He underwent numerous operations, including heart surgery, and fought a multitude of infections.

Lorraine added: “I just feel like a part of me has died.

You can’t begin to describe it.

“It was just devastating for my mum and for the rest of the family.”

Spurred on by her brother’s memory Lorraine took to the skies of Beccles, Suffolk, at the end of last month, raising nearly £1,500 for Headway in the process.

She added: “The apprehension I felt was nothing compared to what Laurence suffered.

“The whole family had to witness him suffer for sevenand- a-half years.

“When I landed on soft ground I got very emotional because of my brother.

“I am absolutely elated and really proud of myself that I did it for the memory of Laurence.”