By Stewart Ross

A FIFE father who overcame heartbreak to spearhead an effective and successful campaign against solvent abuse is to be honoured at Buckingham Palace.

Methil teenager Lee O’Brien died in January of last year.

His father John was incensed as he realised how easy it was for children to get solvents from virtually any corner shop.

Within days of the tragedy the Lee O’Brien Solvent Trust (LOST) was started up, with John and his family collecting signatures on local streets.

Support was immediate across the UK, with Central Fife MP John MacDougall calling for changes in the law as a result of the campaign. Former Conservative health minister Virginia Bottomley and the SNP’s Alex Salmond also voiced support.

At the time, John commented, “I am just a chap from Methil but I am looking to justify my son’s death, and the deaths of 2000 other children across the country, and to have this backing is just fantastic.”

LOST has now been rated a major success, with support from 250 MPs and the endorsement of every local authority in Scotland.

Fife Council is even now running “test purchase” operations to ensure that shopkeepers keep to the law, precisely because of the work of LOST.

Now John has been invited to the palace on October 13 to be honoured as a “Pioneer to the Nation.”

“I will accept this award on behalf of all the people of Scotland,” said John yesterday. “It’s a great achievement for everyone who has helped LOST, such as Fife Council and also the media who have worked so hard to highlight our work.”

More than 600 people have been invited to the reception.

Yesterday a spokesperson for the palace said John was included as he is regarded as “someone who’s made a difference.”

The official invitation described recipients as “ground-breaking individuals who have changed or contributed something unique to the way we live or set new examples for others to follow.”

“Lee would have been 18 this week,” said John at the family home.

“So I want to dedicate this honour to him.”

John also revealed that the 15,000 signatures amassed from across Fife are to be handed in at No 10 Downing Street in the next few weeks.