Inspirational Pendle parents awarded MBEs in New Year's Honours List

Nelson dad Mr John Clough has been awarded the MBE for his work in setting up the Jane's Place domestic violence refuge in memory of his daughter who was murdered by her ex-partner in 2010. His wife Penny was given the MBE in December 2012.

Colne mum Miss Melanie Goodship has also been made an MBE in recognition of her work to educate young people on the dangers of open water following the death of her son James who drowned in Foulridge reservoir in 2014.

Mr Clough (58) has over the years made an outstanding contribution to educate members of the public on the issue of domestic abuse and support the victims of abuse.

Since the brutal murder of his daughter Jane in 2010, he has campaigned vigorously for a change in the bail laws to better reflect a victim’s right to protection.

His persistence led to amendments backed by all sides in Parliament and ultimately to changes to the law being agreed in 2012. These allow prosecutors to appeal against a Crown Court judge’s bail ruling in the High Court. This has saved many lives and protected untold victims from further harm.

He continues to speak out and raise awareness of around domestic abuse and stalking, travelling long distances to support campaigns, while continuing his full-time job. His work in those campaigns is still used by Surrey Police to raise awareness, and he is currently at the forefront of a campaign for the introduction of a stalking register, to help protect members of the public. The stalking register petition has attracted over 164,000 signatures.

He is co-founder of Justice for Jane, a charity working for victims’ rights and protection, and a proud ambassador for Paladin, the national stalking advocacy service. Jane's Place, a refuge set up with his wife in his daughter's memory, provides safe housing for women and children at risk of domestic abuse who have additional complex needs.

Miss Goodship (44) has worked tirelessly with the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the Canal and River Trust to raise awareness of the dangers of open water.

In 2015, she collaborated with the fire service on a video called 'Dying for a Dip – James’ Story', and launched it to pupils. The video is now used by 17 fire and rescue departments and delivered nationally in schools and colleges. It has reached 115,000 people to date via social media.

A senior officer from Lancashire has lauded it as the most successful ever Fire and Rescue water safety campaign.

In 2016 she won the Pride of Civil Service North West Award, which recognises inspirational civil servants who make outstanding contributions to their communities.

During 2016 she also began attending school assemblies and delivering talks to parents in community centres. In 2017, she worked with the Canal and River Trust on a water safety video that has had over 240,000 views on its website and social media. She attended the North West Summer Roadshow at key locations to educate about the risks of unsupervised open water swimming.

Melanie is currently working to promote the dangers of open water to swimming clubs in the Manchester area. She has also opened a youth club, Goodship’s Gaff, in Colne in March 2015, and currently 30 to 40 young people visit the club each week.