A 49-year-old mother of four who led the 'Mothers Together' walk through Slough last year after a burst of horrifying knife crime in the town has been made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Julie Siddiqui's walk allowed the whole community to express its grief over the death of 15-year-old knife attack victim Elton Gashaj - while indicating its determination to change things.

Mums taking part in the walk were joined by councillors and other community leaders - as well as a number of men.

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Mrs Siddiqi has lived in Slough since 1996. She went to Elton Gashaj's funeral and was struck by the number of young friends there, saying: "They were clearly shocked. It clearly made a real impression on them and brought the reality of carrying knives close to home.

"Slough is a small town and that gives us a real opportunity. There is pride in the town, people feel a connection. We all feel a need to take this back, not let it get worse and worse."

The march went to Salt Hill Park where Elton died where the marchers stood in silence.

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Mrs Siddiqi is also the Founder of Sadaqa Day which she started in 2015 - with the aim of encouraging mosques, community groups and individuals to give something back to the areas where they live.

Sadaqa Day provides a focus for busy people who cannot devote too much time to volunteering.

It is a day of social action - one date in the calendar when individuals, mosques and other places of worship, schools, women’s and community groups, scouts and guides groups can get involved - undertaking ready-and-waiting small tasks that one volunteer can deal with in a day.

During this year's pandemic Mrs Siddiqui has established a Slough branch of the national Covid-19 Mutual Aid movement - supporting the work of community groups in the town.

Volunteers have picked up prescriptions for those who were self-isolating and arranged dog walks for those who cannot take their pets outside.