Family Heartbreak After Shrine Vandalised
The family of a teenager killed in a motorbike accident on the Wirral say they're devastated after vandals trashed a shrine built in his memory and left a note telling them to 'move on with their lives'
17-year-old Kieran Reeves was killed when his bike hit a taxi on Allport Road in Bromborough last September.
Family and friends set up a memorial on a lamp post near the scene of the accident - since then it's been destroyed three times.
Kieran's mother, Mandy, reported to police that a note was left beside a lampost reading 'Take down your flowers and move on with your life'.
In a post on Facebook, Mandy said: "To the person that thinks it's ok to make decisions for myself and the rest of Kieran's family and friends.
"Today you have hurt me and the rest of Kieran's family and friends again. You decided six weeks after Kieran's death, thirteen weeks after Kieran's death and again today twenty weeks after his death that it was up to you to clear the lamppost where he died. No let me rephrase that.... Destroy, rip down, desecrate the place where Kieran died.
"This place is where members of Kieran's family, and Kieran's friends go to try to come to terms with this loss"
"It's the place those people feel close to him. Kieran doesn't have a grave, his ashes are on his bed and that is where he will stay till I'm ready to make that decision, so there is nowhere else for flowers to be laid. Next time you decide to do this because you feel it is time for us all to 'move on' let me tell you there is no moving on! We are trying to come to terms and learn to live with this loss and today we are hurting more because of your actions".
In a statement Merseyside Police said:
"We can confirm officers received a report that items at a tribute to the victim of a fatal road traffic collision, Kieran Reeves, on Allport Street, Bromborough, had been removed on a number of occasions.
"Neighbourhood officers have visited Kieran’s family and with Wirral Borough Council, are working to agree a more permanent tribute to Kieran in the area, with a view to a temporary bench being placed in the area for the time-being"
"The neighbourhood team will continue to provide a highly visible police presence in the area and support the victim’s family at this difficult time"