Claire Throssell calls for children to have a 'voice' 10 years after her sons were murdered

Report by Michael Billington.

A woman whose two sons were killed by their father in Penistone is taking part in a fun run in their memory, almost ten years on from when they were murdered. Claire Throssell MBE, and two of her sons' friends, will participate in the two-kilometre run around the South Yorkshire village on Sunday 9 June at 10:30am. Her two sons, 12-year-old Jack and 9-year-old Paul, were murdered by her ex-husband Darren Sykes in October 2014 in a house fire at their family home.Sykes also died in the blaze.Claire was awarded an MBE in 2021 for her campaigning on behalf of children suffering domestic abuse. She is petitioning the Government to introduce legislation which gives children more of a say about which parent they spend time with if there are custody arrangements. Claire said: "Children must not be made to see a parent that is hurting them. "He [Darren Sykes] had five hours access a week. He did not take five hours to do what he did.She added: "By changing this small piece of legislation, it gives the power back to the child.

"It gives them a voice."Sunday's fun run will raise money for Heads Together (Barnsley) Charitable Trust which was set up in Jack and Paul's memory. It will be the seventh time Claire has organised the annual fun run in Penistone which she hopes will help promote the legislation changes she would like to see by taking her beyond the 100,000 signature threshold which would mean her proposals could be debated in Parliament. Speaking about how she feels a decade on from the death of Jack and Paul, Claire told ITV News: "Whenever I walk into a room, it might be full of friends, it might be full of family but it's the loneliest place in the world because the two faces, the two voices that I want to see, are never there."They used to say wherever I was was home and but wherever they were was home and I have not got a home anymore."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.