Freelance trust set-up in Yorkshire gets print charity help

Eight of these safety training bursaries will be funded by the Printing Charity.

Mr Peck’s widow, Juliet Peck moved to Healaugh, near Tadcaster, with their children after his death and in 1995 she came up with the idea of setting up the trust.

Tina Carr, director of the Rory Peck Trust, said: “She came back to Healaugh in order to get their lives back together again, because he was a freelancer there was no one there to support her or the family. She set up a charitable trust in his name to help people like her, and she also set up an award.”

Ms Carr added: “The Rory Peck Trust, which began on a kitchen table in Yorkshire, is now an internationally respected organisation and the only one in the world dedicated to helping freelance journalists and their families in crisis.”

Freelance journalists lack protection offered by large organisations, “so if something goes wrong there’s no safety net,” said Ms Carr.

She said many freelancers are unable to afford safety training and the bursaries are intended to help them.

“I welcome our new partnership with the Printing Charity, who are providing funds.

“It’s absolutely vital. It not only helps save their lives but also the lives of colleagues,” Ms Carr added.