Steven Thompson’s mum left devastated after fencing stolen fromemorial just days before it is due to be revealed

Steven's family have been left devastated after a memorial to the 19-year-old was damaged.

Fencing from a memorial bench dedicated to 19-year-old Steven Thompson, who died following an incident outside a South Shields nightclub, has been stolen.

Steven Thompson suffered a fatal brain injury when he fell back and hit his head on the road after an incident outside Roxanne's nightclub, in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday, August 30, 2021.

Following his death, the 19-year-old’s family and friends have honoured his life in different ways such as a charity walk and more recently, working to create a memorial bench for him at Temple Park field.

Work on the bench had recently finished and was set to be officially unveiled to the public in the coming weeks however fencing that surrounded the bench has been stolen leaving Steven’s mum, Elaine, devastated at what has happened.

Fencing that goes around the bench has been stolen.

She said: “The memorial has been there for months and no one has even touched it, we had just finished it and were getting ready to reveal it now that we are getting nicer weather.

"It was only a little fence and there wasn’t a lot of it, so it isn’t any good to anyone, I can't understand why anyone would take it and I am scared that other things will now be taken.

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"I’m just devastated, the whole town knows who Steven is so I have no idea why anyone would want to steal from a young bairn’s memorial.

"There is nowhere to sit in the cemetery so this is our place to go and relax to remember Steven and now I feel like I don’t want to go there, it is like everything has been set back again.”