The mother of two young boys who were murdered by their father has become the face of a campaign to help protect children through the family court system.
Claire Throssell is fronting the campaign ‘Child First’ by Women’s Aid which she hopes will keep other mothers and children safe from ex partners.
A report by Women's Aid states that over a ten year period, 19 children and two mothers have been killed by their ex-partner and two children have been seriously harmed.
Claire's two children, Jack, 12 and Paul, nine, were killed in a fire deliberately started by their father Darren Sykes at their home on Tennyson Close, Penistone in October 2014. Sykes also died.
Claire, 43, says she still feels like she let her boys down and that fronting the campaign means her boys did not die in vain.
She added: “I try to take things day by day but I’m not feeling any better. I still feel like I let them (Jack and Paul) down.“It was obvious they were frightened of him. I don’t want any other children to have to be hurt through hate or malice. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen.
“At the moment, the ex-partner can come into court, walk out, follow them, find out where they live and intimidate them. There is nothing in place to stop that happening.
“We are hoping to change some of the laws regarding access to children when partners are violent or there is domestic violence, and to give children a voice. There are so many facets to a family breakdown that children’s voices can get lost amongst the process.”
When her sons were killed, Claire and Sykes were going through family court regarding access.
In her court application, Claire stated she believed Sykes could hurt or kill the boys, but he was still granted five hours access a week.
