WHEN Violet’s parents learned that the Making a Difference award was being awarded in their daughter's memory they said they knew she "would be proud".
Violet-Grace Youens was four years old she was hit by a speeding driver travelling in a stolen car at 83mph in March 2017 and she died in her parents arms the next day.
When her parents called for change after the driver and passenger in the car that claimed her life were given short jail sentences, our town listened.
Her parents Glenn and Becky Youens launched a petition calling for the law to be altered. And 167,000 signatures later led to a Parliamentary debate and now a law change - meaning others will have the justice this family did not.
The law is known as Violet’s Law in her memory. It gives judges the powers to impose life sentences on dangerous drivers who kill.
Receiving the award her proud parents Becky and Glenn Youens said: “We are so proud of Violet and know she would be proud to receive this award.
“She was a beautiful girl inside and out and though we’d prefer to not have to do any of this and instead be home in our pyjamas with our two children, one isn’t here anymore and we had to fight to make sure what happened to us doesn’t happen to others and have Violet’s memory live on.
Becky added: “When they were released I am not ashamed to say that I struggled a lot with my mental health, I struggled to get out of bed, but then Glenn came upstairs and told me the petition reached 100,000.
“Our town did that, the community has supported us from the beginning, helped us spread the word and get it out there across the UK and shown us Violet’s kind nature carries on and gave us another reason to get up each day and fight for justice for others in Violet’s name.”
Glenn added “To be recognised - for Violet to be recognised - for the law change means so much to us.
“Now it’s for the judges to implement this law because it’s no use having the law change if they don’t put it to full use.
“A car in the wrong hands is a weapon. This law should have been brought in in 2016, there were calls for it then and it didn’t happen and we didn’t get justice.
“But others now can, thanks to Violet they can.”
Becky added: “Violet wanted to be a doctor, nurse and school teacher, she didn’t get to do any of that.
“But what she did do is change the law, her story helped people see what needed to be done. We’d rather have her with us, but we can’t so instead we build her a legacy she would have created herself. Our beautiful daughter.”
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