Grooming awareness video shortlisted for national award

Kayleigh's Love Story has been shortlisted for a national award. Credit: Leicestershire Police

A short film raising awareness about online grooming has been shortlisted for a national award.

Kayleigh's Love Story, produced by Leicestershire Police, tells the story of a schoolgirl who was raped and murdered after she was groomed.

A total of 57 films have made the shortlist of the EVCOM Screen Awards, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony being held at BAFTA on 23 June.

Kayleigh’s Love Story has already won three awards including Gold awards from The Royal Television Society and from DRUM.

The five-minute film tells the story of Measham schoolgirl, 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood, who was groomed online over a period of 13 days in November 2015 by 27-year-old Luke Harlow, a man she had never met.

Stephen Beadman (L) was jailed for 35 years for Kayleigh's murder and Luke Harlow (R) was jailed for 12 years for grooming the teenager. Credit: Leicestershire Police

She eventually agreed to spend the night at his house, having been persuaded by him to tell her parents she was staying with a school friend.

The following evening, they were joined by Harlow’s neighbour Stephen Badman, 28, and the pair held the schoolgirl against her will.

In the early hours of the following morning, as she attempted to escape from Harlow’s house, Kayleigh was raped and murdered by Beadman.