April Jones’ sister ‘almost died from boozing’ to cope with murder of beloved sister
The 21-year-old desperately tried to block out the pain after her sister was killed by paedophile Mark Bridger in 2012
APRIL Jones' sister has revealed she could have died from a battle with alcohol after her five-year-old sibling was abducted and murdered by a paedophile.
Jazmin Jones was 16 when schoolgirl April was killed by pervert Mark Bridger in 2012 - after he snatched her as she played outside her home in Machynlleth, mid Wales.
Struggling to cope with her family's loss, the teen turned to booze to numb the pain - but soon became lost in a downward spiral.
Speaking to , she said: "I felt I couldn't relate to anyone, no-one had been through what I'd been through.
"So when I turned 18 I just turned to drink as a sort of release. I'd finish work about three or four in the afternoon and I'd go to the pub and drink all night, to the point I didn't remember who I was, I didn't remember my name.
related stories
"I'd wake up in the morning with cuts and bruises because I'd fallen over the night before.
"I was getting so drunk all the time I thought if I carried on I was going to kill myself.
Now 21, Jazmin has thrown herself into campaigning for tougher sentences for sex offenders and has turned her back on drink for good.
Now her petition for April's Law has reached more than 100,000 signatures and is set to be debated in Parliament.
She added: "I thought I can't put the family through this and also thought, being April's older sister, I can't act like this for April's sake.
"So I had to stop and I focused on this campaign and now petition.
"We're hopeful it will get the law out and even if it saves one child's life we'll prevent another family having to go through what we've been through."
Child killer Bridger is serving life at Wakefield Prison, West Yorks for murdering April.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368