A FISHERMAN'S widow has recorded a charity single in memory of her hisband who was killed in a freak storm off the Southend coast.

Jane Dolby, from Leigh, lost her husband Colin in November 2008, and has gone on to form the Fishwives choir, a 70-strong support network of wives and widows of fishermen from the Highlands to the Isle of Jersey.

Together, they have recorded a one-off single due for release on iTunes this summer, with the proceeds going to the Fisherman's Mission, a charity that supported her and her family following her loss.

The women gathered in Hastings, East Sussex, to record the single, and for some of them it was the first time they had met since setting up the choir on social networking sites.

Mrs Dolby said: "We're hoping for a life beyond the recording of the single, and hope to be able to continue rehearsals and perform at some of the many gigs and performance opportunities we have been offered.

Speaking of her husband'd tragic death, and the effect it has had on her family, she said:

"Four years have passed now, and we are in a much better place.

"When people told me that time would heal, I used to want to punch them, but they were right.

"Despite the pain, the chaos and the loss we've endured, happiness is a choice and I continue to choose happiness for me and my children.

"Colin would approve."