A SINGLE mum determined to protect her children following the death of her partner has been announced as a 'mum of the year'.

Tara Bennett, aged 21, from Newton, won the title of 'north west single mum of the year 2005' in a competition run by women's magazine That's Life!

When Miss Bennett was four months pregnant with their second child in September 2003, her partner Antony Lee Baird, of Lloyd Crescent, hanged himself in an alleyway.

She said: "He had been out and was behaving strangely.

"We had a row and he left. His last words were, 'This is your fault'.

"It will haunt me forever."

Since the 23-year-old's death, the mother-of-two has been determined to make life secure and happy for her children, Nathan, aged two, and 18-month-old Angel-Antonia.

She received the nomination for the award from her mum Sheila Bennett, aged 53, after qualifying as a police constable.

The north west winner said: "I yearn for security for my children and my aim is to make them proud."

The That's Life! awards are aimed at challenging stereotypes and images of single parenthood.

Jo Checkley, magazine editor, said: "Single parents are all too often criticised for draining our welfare system and somehow weakening the value of the family, but most don't set out to be a single mum or dad, it's the role life thrusts at them.

"Tara has been forced to live with a haunting tragedy, but she has managed to pick up the pieces of her life and emerge stronger.

"In putting her children first she has forged a successful career that will always ensure they are cared and provided for."