THE courage of Abbie Paginton is breathtaking.

Having endured the most dreadful abuse from her stepfather, she found the strength to continue with her life.

Then, when she saw the man with her own daughter, she drew on her reserves of strength once more and brought him to justice.

As the abuser begins what we hope is a very long period in a jail cell, Abbie has waived her anonymity in order to tell her story.

In doing so, she has become a beacon of hope for fellow survivors of abuse and a living warning to abusers that their actions may one day catch up with them and bring terrible retribution.

There are people reading this who may have suffered as Abbie did or are suffering still, and for them we quote Abbie herself: "People call it a dirty secret but it's not your secret, it's the abuser's."

Abbie now hopes to become a counsellor, and we can't think of a better person for such a role.