National award for Kayleigh Haywood film

Kayleigh’s Love Story was awarded the bronze award in the Social Screen category in the annual Clarion Awards run by EVCIOM at a ceremony held on Friday in Covent Garden, London.

Evcom is the so-called Oscars of the specialist video produced by the corporate and charity sectors.

The five-minute film was produced earlier this year by the Force in association with Affixxius Films of Loughborough.

It tells the story of how 15-year-old Measham schoolgirl Kayleigh Haywood was groomed online by a man she had never met, and how, having spent the weekend at his house, she was raped and murdered by her groomer’s next door neighbour.

Made with the support of the 15-year-old’s parents, the film is currently being shown to children aged 11 and above throughout Melton, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland by a specially trained team of PCSOs with support from officers and social care staff.

Since the start of September, the film has been screened nearly 100 times in local schools and seen by more than 3,500 students. It has also been shown at a series of public event screenings throughout Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland in the last few weeks.

Signed and audio described versions of the film have also been produced, as have versions of the film in five languages other than English.

It is anticipated that the film, a trailer of which was launched online in June this year, will be publicly available via the Force’s Facebook site from January 2017 onwards.

Deputy Chief Constable Roger Bannister said: “I’m delighted that the quality of the film and, most importantly the message it contains, has been recognised nationally.

“It’s a tribute to the quality of the production, and care with which it was produced; but far more, this award will further help raise awareness of the film and the stark warning it contains about the dangers to our children posed by predators operating online.

“Kayleigh’s parents very much wanted this film to be their daughter’s legacy, and this national recognition will help achieve that.”

Tim Cabrelli, senior partner at Affixxius Films, said: “It is difficult to be ‘proud’ of a piece such as this due to its content, but its technical and artistic execution is testament to the immense talent of the Affixxius Films team.

“We’re delighted the film has won the bronze award and hope this helps further get its integral message out there through awareness.”