THIS week will mark a tragic anniversary for retired Otley health worker Lyn Marshall.

On Friday, July 21 it will be three years to the day since Lyn's daughter, Pam Winterburn, died following claims of workplace bullying.

Pam, who had dreamed of being involved in horse racing since she was a child, was an award-winning stablehand and also a registered trainer and owner.

The inquest into her death concluded that she had taken her life near her home in Soham, Cambridgeshire after being treated by various employers with a 'lack of compassion'.

It also found that there was 'credible evidence' the 44-year-old had been bullied.

Lyn has been dedicated to combating bullying ever since, but last December a friend of Pam's approached her with an idea that gave her a whole new focus.

He asked if she wanted to buy a promising young yearling which she now co-owns - and has named the horse Pam's Angel.

She said: "She is two now and absolutely amazing, full of love.

"She should be ready to start competitive racing later this year and my trainer tells me that one day she'll win Royal Ascot!"

Lyn owns the horse in partnership with her trainer, Mohammed Moubarak, and says they are making a powerful statement by racing in Pam's memory.

She said: "We're working together hand in hand to show bullies that, while Pam might not be here she is in spirit and that we'll keep on fighting for everybody who is being bullied."

Lyn remembers her daughter's last days only too vividly. She said: "Pam went to the doctor about the bullying and called me.

"She came to see me two weeks before she passed away and said she'd had enough, so we decided she'd be coming home to live with me, it was all sorted.

"She was meant to be coming home on the Wednesday but on the Monday night of that week the police came to tell me she was dead."

She added: "My daughter was a fantastic, outgoing person who loved life.

"From a little girl all she wanted to do was be with horses and animals, it was her world, and all she wanted to be was a jockey.

"She did love her job before things went wrong and she struggled to get work later on because she'd had the audacity to speak out.

"Horse racing can seem glamorous but there's a dark side behind it.

"Things haven't moved forward for nearly 100 years and people haven't been treated with the respect they deserve."

Lyn says if Pam's Angel does win a major race she will use the winnings to buy Otley Civic Centre - and turn it into a bullying support and advice centre.

She said: "We've achieved a lot of things through campaigning, including getting a new organisation in Newmarket that's manned by people who know about bullying, fear and depression.

"They also know how to listen to people and offer support and we'd like to see the same kind of thing cascaded through England.

"This is the third anniversary of Pam's death and we're still here, with this little horse helping us, fighting the bullies."