THE courageous survivor of child sex abuse is now one of the faces of a campaign to get others to break their silence.

Tom Leavesley, originally from Worcester, is one of the faces of a campaign to break the silence surrounding abuse and make sure all survivors can have a voice and make themselves heard.

His face is on the cards designed by JAMcreative for Survivors Manchester.

In total 20,000 postcards featuring the faces of survivors will be distributed around the city, 7,000 in Oldham and 13,000 in the rest of Greater Manchester.

Larger posters with the hard-hitting message will also be displayed in GP centres and community centres.

Mr Leavesley, now a successful businessman who owns his own business called People Experts Limited, was just 12 years old when he became the victim of abuse at the hands of Alan Page who had been a family friend.

He kept silent about his ordeal for 20 years before he walked into Worcester Police Station in Castle Street, Worcester in December 2013. Since then he has made it his mission to make sure others do not suffer in silence as he did.

Alan Page of Burcher Green in Kidderminster, was sentenced to five years in prison at Stafford Crown Court last December after Mr Leavesley reported the abuse.

Page was found guilty at Hereford Crown Court on Tuesday, November 4 of five indecent assaults and for inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.

Page committed the offences between July 1, 1996 and October 1, 1996 in Stourport-on-Severn.

Mr Leavesley, who is now 31, originally of Diglis, Worcester,waived his right to anonymity at the time, branding Page 'pathetic' and 'selfish'.

He said Page had stolen his childhood from him and he could never forgive him for what he had done.

Mr Leavesley, who has his own blog about his ordeal called tomsurvivors.uk, said: "When Survivors Manchester approached me to be part of their latest marketing campaign I jumped at the chance to get involved.

“They continue to encourage abuse survivors break their silence which really resonates with me having kept mine for nearly 20 years.

“Seeing my face on the postcards for the first time really helped reinforce my identity as a survivor and I know I have a voice and I'm heard.

“I hope this marketing campaign encourages others to seek the support offered by organisations like Survivors Manchester and break their silence."

Mr Leavesley received excellent support from DC Kirsty Hickling from West Mercia Police, West Mercia Sexual Abuse Support Centre and the volunteers at both Worcester and Hereford Crown Court during his ordeal.

He will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in August to raise money for other survivors and will be taking part in various other charity events in 2015 and beyond.

In his victim personal statement Mr Leavesley wrote: "No words can describe the emotional trauma of telling people you love the truth about what happened and watching their pain and upset as they deal with what you've just said.”

Duncan Craig, chief executive officer and psychotherapist, himself a survivor, said: "I think there's a real bravery in speaking out. Tom has chosen to speak out for himself but also to try and gives others the confidence to do it."

Survivors Manchester is a voluntary organisation, receiving no funding from central or local government and heavily reliant on our volunteers and the support of a board of directors.