Parents Of Alice Ruggles Handed Award From PM

A Tur Langton couple have been recognised by the Prime Minister for their tireless work in raising awareness of stalking, in memory of their daughter.

Clive Ruggles & Sue Hills with Harborough MP, Neil O’Brien

Sue Hills and Clive Ruggles began the campaign after Alice Ruggles was murdered in 2016 at the hands of her obsessive ex-boyfriend, aged 24.

They have been handed a ‘Points of Light’ award from Teresa May, which recognises outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community and inspiring others.

Alice Ruggles

The couple founded the ‘Alice Ruggles Trust’ following the tragic death of their daughter, to raise awareness of stalking, coercive control and domestic abuse through education and teaching.

They also work with Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office to improve how stalking is recorded and the actions taken to deal with it.

In a personal letter to Sue and Clive, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

“The loss of your daughter, Alice, at such a young age and in such devastating circumstances is beyond comprehension. By creating ‘The Alice Ruggles Trust’, you have responded to this personal tragedy with incredible strength and determination. Your ongoing work is invaluable in raising awareness of stalking and abuse and it will help countless victims. I wish you every success as you continue to grow this essential work in memory of Alice.”

“Sue and Clive have shown incredible courage and fortitude. It was a pleasure recently to speak in favour of and pass the Stalking Protection Bill. But there is much more to do and the work of the Trust is extremely important.”

Sue and Clive said: “We are hugely grateful to receive this award, which gives us a real boost in our efforts to help prevent what happened to Alice happening to others.

“There is so much do both to raise public awareness of the dangers of coercive control and stalking, particularly among young people, and to ensure that the authorities react in the right way when cases come to their attention. We can’t imagine that we could have achieved anything like as much to date without the fantastic support of everyone who has been working with us on behalf of the ‘Alice Ruggles Trust’, as well as many remarkable colleagues in related charities. It is wonderful to know that the Prime Minister gives her personal support to what we are doing.”