A mother has paid tribute to her son after he won a prestigious human rights award exactly 10 years after tragedy struck his family.
Paul Houston, formerly of Oswaldtwistle, campaigned against abuses of the Human Rights Act after his 12-year-old daughter died in a road accident involving a car driven by an asylum seeker.
Paul won the 'Close to Home' award for his courageous defence of rights and freedoms at the Liberty awards, held at the Southbank Centre in London earlier this week.
Amy was died on November 23, 2003 in Blackburn.
Paul's mum Margaret Owen, of the White Ash Estate in Oswaldtwistle, spoke of her pride at his achievement saying that her son had behaved with 'dignity'.
She said: “I'm very, very proud of my son for the hard work and hard slog.
“He's not one for accolades and is a shy lad really. Everybody up here knows Paul.
“I'm proud of the fact he kept going. An awful lot of people and young dads could have not done that but he did.
“He behaved with dignity and that for me makes him the better person.”
The awards were hosted by broadcaster and writer Sandi Toksvig and attended by stars of stage and screen including Joanna Lumley, Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Bremner.
Mrs Owen, 68, said her son deserved the award for his battle in defence of human rights.
She said: “He's never been against the Human Rights Act and he doesn't want it to be disbanded because it protects a lot of people.
“The problem is there are too many people using it for insignificant reasons. He's campaigning for the correct use of it.
“It was originally brought in to protect the weak and vulnerable but now it's for a lot of silly purposes.”
