The inspirational mother of a popular teenager who tragically took his own life has been nominated for a Your Champions award.
Oscar Phillips from Great Sutton was just 16 when he was fatally struck by a Liverpool-bound through train at Capenhurst Station in 2015.
His mum, Carmel Giansante, and his close-knit family were left devastated by their sudden loss but soon rallied to set up a charitable foundation in his memory to provide emotional support to youngsters in the Ellesmere Port area.
They now campaign passionately for better safety measures at railway stations.
And now Carmel has been nominated as the Person of the Year in the 2017 Your Champions awards.
The annual Your Champions search for the unsung heroes and heroines of our community reaches its 30th year in 2017.
Every year for the past three decades, Trinity Mirror Cheshire has teamed up with ScottishPower Foundation to throw the spotlight on those people and groups who go above and beyond to make their communities a better place to live.
That fateful January day in 2015, sixth former Oscar – who had no history of depression – attended Whitby High School as usual and nobody had any inkling of the tragedy that was to come.
Carmel and the family are fighting for improvements to rail safety in the hope they can spare other families from losing a loved one in such awful circumstances.
Their petition to ‘prevent further suicides and accidents by rail’ quickly received more than 700 signatures.
Carmel said: “We are campaigning for more public safety especially at the unmanned train stations where 80mph trains fly through.
“Health and safety is through the roof at most places of work yet in a public place you could stand close to the edge of a platform as a high speed train passes and there would be nothing to stop you falling.
“Train drivers and members of the public who witness these horrible deaths may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and loss of earnings, rail lines have to be closed with the inconvenience that causes and the cost of the emergency services – all the aftermath effects mean it makes sense to put up barriers.”
She continued: “The biggest loss is for the families who forever have their loved one missing from future events and have to learn to cope without them being there on a daily basis.”
Their aim is to see platform screen doors – which only open when the doors of a stopped train open – like those at some London Tube stations, erected at stations such as Capenhurst which have express trains passing through.
“The trains could run through at high speed safely with doors that only open with the doors of a stopped train,” explained Carmel.
“I’m aware people could look for alternative ways to take their lives but we have a duty to protect and we need to abolish these options; making it difficult could also change someone’s mind.
“The cost of building these is a fraction compared to the cost we have paid as the family and friends of Oscar.”
Meanwhile The Oscar Phillips Foundation – which aims to educate about emotional well-being – continues its vital and valuable work.
Details are at theoscarphillipsfoundation.com.
Later this year, a panel of judges from Trinity Mirror and ScottishPower will come up with shortlists for all five categories in the 2017 Your Champions awards scheme – Person, Young Person, Team, Volunteer and Sporting.
All finalists will be invited to a glittering gala, red carpet event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chester on Friday, November 17 with Olympic silver and medallist Colin Jackson CBE on hand to present awards to this year’s successful champions who will be announced on the night.
