THE mother of murdered teenager Jayden Parkinson has said she is determined to provide a safe haven for domestic abuse victims.

Samantha Shrewsbury said she will fight to protect future tragedies involving domestic violence after Jayden was killed by her ex-boyfriend in December 2013.

It comes after a memorial bench to the 17-year-old was unveiled in a Didcot churchyard on Saturday, just metres away from where her body was found.

Ms Shrewsbury, 48, said: “The most important thing for me now is the fight against domestic violence. That’s my aim, my goal.

“I won’t make a complete difference but I might make a little dent.”

A jury found Ben Blakeley guilty of murder last July after he strangled Jayden in countryside south of Didcot, later burying her body in his uncle Alan Kennedy’s grave at All Saints Church, in Lydalls Road.

Jayden’s Gift was set up in the wake of the teenager’s death and now Ms Shrewsbury intends to focus all her efforts on raising cash for the charity.

The bereaved mother said she wants to create a “safe house” for domestic abuse victims but needs to organise more fundraising events, including a festival next year, before plans can get under way.

She also hopes to encourage more adults to become foster parents and take in troubled teenagers who may be at risk of domestic violence.

Family and friends gathered in All Saints Church as the Rev Karen Beck dedicated a memorial bench to Jayden on Saturday afternoon.

Ms Shrewsbury said many church-goers were upset after news of the murder unravelled on their doorstep and it was important for them to have a place where they could remember Jayden.

But she said harrowing memories of her daughter’s death would stop her from visiting the bench or the churchyard.

She added: “It’s pretty hard because I don’t want to look in that direction, I don’t even want to go in that direction.

“It’s too much of a reminder. People have taken Jayden into their hearts. They were shocked, stunned – so this is for them and for everybody in Didcot.

“It was a sacrilege and this is a good thing out of a bad thing.

“Sadly, it’s taken my daughter’s life to do that.”

Ms Beck gave a reading as the sun shone down over Jayden’s memorial bench during the gathering.