THE widow of former Keighley Cougars player Danny Jones has said she is determined his death will not be in vain after collecting an MBE for the charity work she has done in his memory.

Singer Lizzie Jones, 39, was honoured for her services to rugby league and charity after helping to raise almost £200,000 for the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund.

Mrs Jones held back tears and admitted she was "still emotional" after collecting the award from the Princess Royal at a ceremony in Windsor Castle.

Mr Jones - an ex Wales international - collapsed and died at the age of 29 of an undiagnosed heart defect while playing for Keighley Cougars against London Skolars in May 2015.

His sudden death prompted his wife to launch a campaign to raise money to help amateur rugby league clubs buy cardiac defibrillators.

Mrs Jones said: "I said to the Princess Royal that there is nothing I can do to bring him back but what I can do is to try and change the future in his memory and hopefully try and stop it from happening to somebody else's husband or son by getting them checked.

"If Danny had that screening, he might have been saved. It is just a wonderful thought that a lot of people have been saved because of him.

"The defibrillators are there in case the worst happens, and people are protected because of him."

She added: "I am normally good at holding the emotion in and using it to put into my singing but today is almost like a climax of everything I have done in Danny's memory.

"It is just something else to add to his memory. It is something else that adds to his legacy."

Mrs Jones - who calls herself a "campaigner, twin mummy, Yorkshire girl" and a "sporting soprano" - has undertaken a number of events to raise funds, including marathons and 10k runs.

The memorial fund has also helped pay for cardiac screening for junior and adult rugby league players, and has also worked with other sports, including cricket, to get money needed to install defibrillators at local clubs.

Mrs Jones has also sung at numerous sporting events including the Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

She said their six year-old twins Phoebe and Bobby call their late father their "guardian angel".

Mrs Jones feel that her husband is probably looking down on her and thinking: "Wow, look at you. A little girl from Halifax. Well done for doing something so positive and making our children proud hopefully."