Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's sister says she still communicates with her from beyond the grave.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

The English socialite died suddenly in February 2017 after suffering a perforated ulcer, but her sister, author Santa Montefiore, has claimed she's subsequently received lots of signs from her sibling.

Recalling an incident last July when she was listening to a recording of her sister singing while sat with her teenage son - who asked whether it made her feel sad - Santa shared: "I said, 'It doesn't, because it makes me feel close to her.' Then all the lights went out."

And after Santa thanked her sister for letting her know she was with them, the lights suddenly came on again.

She told the Sunday Times Magazine: "I've always been very spiritual. Tara wasn't and hated any mention of ghosts. I'd tell her of the people I'd seen in the night and she hated it. So now it's quite funny she appears to me like that."

Despite this, Santa admitted she still hasn't fully recovered from the sudden nature of her sister's death.

She explained: "There was no sitting by the bedside letting her know how I felt. It was literally arriving at her apartment and the policeman saying, 'Sorry, you can't go in. She's already passed.' I still haven't got over that moment."

Tara battled a cocaine addiction during her adult life, while she also admitted to struggling with anxiety.

And Santa has admitted she often wonders whether there's more she could have done to help her sister, who died age 45.

She said: "Life's too short to regret, but there are regrets that she wasn't well.

"I often think, 'Could I have done more?' And you do wish things had been different. I wish I'd been able to help her or inspire her."