Jade's LEGACY

One woman is determined to honour the memory of her precious daughter

- MISHAAL KHAN, ANN CUSACK

A mother's intuition can sense when her child is in danger, when something isn't right, when they need her help. Mum of three Tracey Roberts knows the feeling all too well, of wanting to be there for her eldest daughter Jade, and of knowing with unexplainable certainty when something was wrong.

But Tracey, now 57, can't shake the idea that there was more she could have done. 'I wish I'd been better informed. It haunts me every day when I think how alone Jade must have felt,' says Tracey, from Liverpool. 'But it's also why I'm doing the work I am today. Although I couldn't help her, there are thousands more Jades out there.'

Growing up, Jade was like any other little girl. She loved playing with friends and her sister Dannii, two years her junior. Together, they doted on their brother Jack, when he came along in 2003, when Jade was nine. But over the next few years, Tracey noticed a change.

'Jade seemed to retreat inwards. Me and her dad had sadly split and by 2007, when Jade was 13, she struggled with anxiety,' Tracey recalls. 'I worried she was bottling everything up, so I arranged private counselling sessions for three months. I hoped talking eased whatever was on her mind.'

At 16, Jade left school, eventually getting a job as a healthcare assistant. Between her long shifts and Tracey's work as a counsellor, they didn't see each other often. 'When we did cross paths, we made time for tea and a chat,' Tracey says.

'Jade would say she was anxious and I reminded her she could confide in me, but she never said much more. Only now, I wish I'd pushed her.'