Rishi honours hero Zach...the boy who took on the trolls

Battle changed law for epilepsy sufferers

- Jan Disley

A COURAGEOUS schoolboy who tackled online trolls and won is today named as the year's first winner of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Points of Light award.

Zach Eagling, who suffers from epilepsy, launched his crusade after sick bullies had tried to trigger seizures by sending flashing messages to a social media page he set up for a charity fundraising walk.

The 12-year-old battled away for more than three years to have the life-threatening abuse categorised as a criminal offence.

And the Daily Express campaigned alongside him, following his story every step of the way.

In October 2023, "Zach's Law" became enshrined in legislation as part of the Online Safety Act - this was the first time a law has been written specifically to protect people with epilepsy.

That means that anyone who maliciously targets sufferers online could now face a prison sentence of up to five years.

Proud