A campaign launched in St Albans to tackle LGBT+ hate crime has received charity status.

Ask for Clive was set up with the aim of making public spaces a welcome environment for everyone.

If a patron of a participating bar, pub or club either experiences or sees discrimination or harassment they can go to a staff member and "Ask for Clive" as a code phrase. Any instance will then be tackled and recorded accordingly.

The campaign was named after Clive Duffey, a local LGBT+ campaigner, founder of Herts Pride and an employee of the Terrence Higgins Trust and North Herts LGBT+ show host.

The new charity is chaired and founded by local councillor Danny Clare and has a great of team of trustees including Daisy Cooper MP, Sean William Hughes - the owner of Dylans, The Boot and The Plough - and Clive himself, along with five other local members of the community.

Its official approval from the Charity Commission came exactly one year after the campaign launched in the city.

Although Ask for Clive is now a national campaign, the charity will continue to organise and participate in events around the community including a forthcoming Football vs. Homophobia event at St Albans City FC and a Transgender Remembrance Day Vigil.

Since then it has expanded to over 2,000 venues across the UK, spanning from the Orkney Islands to the Rock of Gibraltar. Its goal is to reach more than 20,000 venues by the end of this year.

Welcoming the new charity status, Clive said: "Thanks to the founder Danny Clare and the hard work of the trustees I am thrilled we have been awarded charity status.

"This will help us share our message of inclusion and anti-discrimination around the country and beyond.

"With hate crimes increasing we hope to make an impact."

To celebrate Ask for Clive's one year anniversary and official launch as a charity it is hosting a fundraiser quiz at St Saviour's Church on April 4.

Tickets are £10 with proceeds going to the charity, and can be purchased at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ask-for-clive