London, Jul 2 (IANS): Mitch Winehouse thought he was "actually going insane" when first confronted with the death of his daughter Amy and says he went into complete shock.

"Coming back on the plane, it was awful. It was dreadful. I had my manager Trenton with me, and Amy's manager Raye. They were very upset, but I was.... I was OK.

"Although I was okay coming on the flight from America, I thought to myself, I am actually going insane. I am actually losing my mind. I could feel myself slipping away," femalefirst.co.uk quoted him as saying.

Mitch, who looked after his daughter full time, and had helped steer her away from drug addiction, has since set up The Amy Winehouse Foundation to raise money to help struggling young people, and says it has given him the drive and focus to carry on.

"It's saved my life. Nobody should know what it feels like to lose a child. I lost my dad when I was 16; he was 43. We were very close. But losing a parent is not like losing a child. It's worse than awful."