A MOTHER whose daughter was stabbed to death in a Chorley alleyway has broken her seven-month silence to express her heartache.

Denise Horridge described her second youngest daughter, Melanie, as 'my everything'.

She said: "When Melanie died I felt like I had lost everything.

"She is always in the back of my mind, and I am always thinking about her."

Two weeks ago on September 1, which would have been Melanie's 26th birthday, Denise tried to lay her ghost to rest.

"I went to the alleyway where she died.

"I took down a vodka and coke -- that was her favourite drink -- and I raised a glass to her."

But Denise, who has four other children, is still haunted by her memories.

"I haven't had her things back yet," said Denise.

"When I get them back, it'll make things more real for me.

"We don't even know what she had on her that night. I'd like her jewellery so I can pass it on to her daughter.

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and things I need to know before I can really accept what has happened."

Melanie was attacked as she walked home from her mother's flat in Seymour Street.

She was discovered lying in an alley off Stump Lane on February 27 after being stabbed by ex-boyfriend Bevon Williams of Fielden Street, Chorley. A judge at Preston Crown Court sentenced him to 11 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to murder on July 12. The Horridge family has now turned its focus on keeping Melanie's memory alive.

A private website has been set up in her honour, where her brother and sisters have posted heartfelt messages.

The family is busy raising cash for a plaque in her memory and are beginning a campaign to get street lighting in the alleyway where she died.

Denise said: "Our local pub, the Fox and Grapes, recently held a night in remembrance of her. It was really nice and I can't thank the owners, Jenny and David , enough for the hard work they put into it."

Now Denise is slowly rebuilding her own life, but says she is finding it difficult to adjust to being recognised in Chorley.

"I feel like everywhere I go, people are pointing at me because they know who I am.

"I want to be back to normal, and for people to treat me like I'm a person and not just Melanie's mum."

Denise says she will never come to terms with the events of this year, but she will always hold memories of her daughter close to her heart.

"When Melanie left my house on that night her last words were 'I'll see you tomorrow mum'," said Denise.

"I never saw her again.

"But she was my everything and the 25 years we had together are so precious."ndering the streets at night after what happened to Melanie."