There are so many more positives now'

Three decades after the tragic murder of her son, James Bulger, Denise Fergus and husband Stuart mark 25 years together by renewing their wedding vows, surrounded by love and laughter

Denise Fergus is happy. You can hear it in her voice, see it in her eyes and feel it in the easy, loving banter between her and husband Stuart.

Little wonder, given that the pair have just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a renewal of their vows in the same church they got married in, followed afterwards by a big party for family and friends.

It’s more than that, though. After decades of fighting for justice for

her son James Bulger, who was led away from her and murdered by two 10-year-old boys in 1993, Denise has reached a level of acceptance about what she and her family have gone through – an experience that shocked the world and one that no parent should ever have to endure.

“I feel the happiest I have been for some time and that’s been the case for a while,” she reveals.

“I am living the life I should have lived all those years ago when I was young; a life that was taken away from me.

“There are so many more positives now, with our three sons and granddaughter; we can sit back and watch them live their lives; get married, have kids. It’s their turn now. Life is an enormous learning curve but here we are – just Denise and Stuart. Renewing our vows was a way of marking that.”

As well as being surrounded by a large, loving family, Denise’s newfound sense of peace has also come from writing her recently updated autobiography I Let Him Go.

It was very painful to recall the events that have shaped her life – James was just a few weeks short of his third birthday when he was snatched from her in a shopping centre by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson – but it also gave her a chance to bring her little boy fully back into focus.