Ben Moncrieff: Mother’s horror as mural for ‘beautiful’ son murdered while protecting friend is stolen

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A grieving mom says she is “gobsmacked” after a mural for her murdered son was pulled down.

Ben Moncrieff, 18, tragically died after being stabbed as he stepped in to guard a friend throughout a row exterior a McDonald’s restaurant in Bath metropolis centre in May final 12 months. His attacker, a boy aged 16, was jailed for his homicide in December.

After his loss of life, mates of Ben started leaving messages, pictures and flowers round a tree near the place the assault happened. “Ben’s tree” quickly grew to become a spot for reflection and a reminder of the lethal penalties of knife crime.

But final Friday morning, an individual was caught on CCTV flattening the memorial, leaving the tree naked and Ben’s mom, Sharon Hendry, devastated. Avon and Somerset Police is now investigating the incident and is treating it as theft.

“I was completely gobsmacked,” Ms Hendry instructed The Independent. “I was stunned; how could anyone be so cruel to take down Ben’s mural? It’s caused heartbreak for his family and friends, I can’t believe it.”

“That tree was the lasting tribute to my son and the raised of awareness of knife crime which we wanted to be his legacy.

“I hope who ever did it never knows what it’s like to be the mother of a murdered teenager.”

After mates started adorning the mural following his loss of life, Ms Hendry additionally grew to become a daily contributor to the show. Last week, the 54-year-old added a gold balloon and yellow roses to the strings holding up laminated footage of {the teenager}, who was nicknamed ‘Cheese’ by mates.

Situated in the midst of Southgate, one of many metropolis centre’s busiest streets, it was seen by 1000’s of individuals day by day.

Bath and North East Somerset Council had requested Ms Hendry to take away the mural two months in the past after supporting the set up of a plaque on a close-by bench – however the council was fast to say its groups had not taken it down.

Councillor Tim Ball, cupboard member for neighbourhood providers, stated: “We want to reassure Ben’s family that the council did not remove items from the tree and will only do so when we have first spoken to Ben’s family.

“We have requested the third party CCTV footage of memorial items being removed from the tree is passed onto the police. Our thoughts remain with Ben’s mum, his family and his friends.”

Ms Hendry stated she’d since returned to the tree after the mural elimination to put flowers. She stated: “It needs to be acknowledged what happened to Ben to stop others dying [from knife crime]. Ben was such a beautiful person, it was a perfect way to mark his life. His tribute has helped me and others.”

The mural elimination was reported to police on Tuesday, with Ms Hendry offering an announcement to officers on Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the police power instructed The Independent: “Police are investigating the theft of tributes from the memorial to Ben Moncrieff in Southgate, Bath.

“The theft of flowers and photographs was reported on Tuesday 27 February and initial investigations have established that they were removed at about 6.30am on Friday 23 February.

“Officers have identified positive lines of enquiry and the investigation continues.”

The elimination of the mural comes as newest Home Office information reveals the variety of knife crime offences throughout England and Wales rose 5 per cent within the 12 months as much as September 2023, in comparison with the identical interval the earlier 12 months.

In Bath, a 16-year-old boy known as Mikey Roynon died after being stabbed at a home celebration a month after Ben’s loss of life. Three youths are presently on trial charged with Mikey’s homicide.

Anyone with info on the elimination of the mural ought to name 101 and provides the reference 5224051079.