BRISTOL vicar Julie Nicholson has relived the anguish of learning that her daughter Jenny was a victim of the London Tube bombings five years ago.

In a book published later this month, Mrs Nicholson tells how it took five days after the July 7 attacks before Jenny, 24, was identified as one of the dead.

She describes the moment of being told the news by police officers as like a tsunami, a "great wave of death" that engulfed first her and her husband Greg, Jenny's partner James, then Jenny's sister and brother Lizzie and Thomas.

"The wave changes course again, rising up and making ready to crash on to Bristol, to grandparents and friends, sending shockwaves spiralling out; while in its wake is brokenness and disbelief. For a moment, my husband and I cling to each other but the pain is too great; he can't bear mine and I can't bear his. Shock numbs feeling and darkness comes down like a blind."

In an extract from the book, A Song for Jenny, A Mother's Story of Love and Loss, Mrs Nicholson tells how she was on holiday in Anglesey when she heard about the explosions on the underground.

She describes how family members, unable to contact Jenny, who had been on her way to her job at a music publishers in London from her home in Reading, gradually became more worried. She tells how she travelled from North Wales to the Royal London Hospital, where survivors were taken, and witnessed a nun and a young cleric talking to families.

"I'm a mother desperately searching for her child. I'm also a priest, but at the moment I'm embarrassed by the face and I'm struggling to see how the church has a place in this room," Mrs Nicholson writes.

At the time of the tragedy, she was priest-in-charge at St Aidan and St George in Bristol but later resigned her ministry because she felt unable to forgive the bombers. She has continued to work for the church on arts and drama projects and to use her experiences to help others.

Jenny Nicholson grew up in Bristol and studied for a Masters degree in music at Bristol University.

She was head chorister at St Mary's in Henbury and a member of Horfield Amateur Dramatic Society.

The book recalls her energy, sense of fun and love of life. Her mother recalls Jenny's delight when the vicar featured on Trinny and Susannah's What Not To Wear and when she was given red lacy underwear to wear under her cassock.

Mrs Nicholson tells how she summed up her daughter in response to questions from police liaison officers before her death was confirmed. "This is Jenny we're talking about, for goodness' sake. Jenny sings in choirs, she goes to aquarobics, had a short holiday in Portugal last month with James, attends church sometimes, goes to wine bars with friends and laughs a lot."

A Song for Jenny, A Mother's Story of Love and Loss, by Julie Nicholson, is published by HarperCollins on June 24, price £14.99.