A mum whose children were left home alone with the body of their father after his sudden death is calling for schools to check their procedures.

A year on from her husband Chris’s death while she was away on business, Helen Daykin has spoken out to raise awareness of a potentially big issue.

Chris was looking after their two daughters Pearl and Iris, four and two, when he suffered heart failure.

No one from Pearl’s school rang Helen, who was in London, to check why she had not turned up.

The tragic situation left the two young children stuck in the Halifax home for almost 24 hours.

Helen told the BBC: “There’s no reason why this couldn’t happen again. How the children didn’t hurt themselves I’ve no idea.

“They spent the whole day upstairs, they didn’t come down at all. They were hungry.

Helen Daykin is campaigning for schools to do better checks when pupils don't turn up after her daughters were left stranded with the body of their father, who suffered heart failure while she was away on business

“They played with all my shoes and makeup, but they didn’t venture further in the house.”

She said the girls had made desperate attempts to wake their dad up and found indigestion tablets, which they put in his mouth to “make him better.”

The two girls were found by police the next day in bed with his dead body.

Helen wants all schools to overhaul how they check up on children who don’t arrive at school after Pearl’s school tried Chris’s number but not hers.

She is not naming the school but says she wants all schools to make sure they have contact details for multiple people.

She told the Examiner: “It’s not about blaming the school.

Halifax dad Chris Daykin who tragically died of heart failure while in sole charge of his daughters Pearl and Iris

“It’s about people and schools checking their processes and making sure they have multiple numbers, one off site of the home, and calling those numbers in a timely way the a home visit and contacting the police if needed.

“My daughter’s school had four numbers for us but they only used one.”

The Good Grief Trust is working with Helen to influence change through the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Bereavement Support of MPs so this does not happen to another family.

The government could now ask schools in England to make extra checks, including keeping an extra contact number to call when children don’t turn up.