Memorial for dead burgler

How awful eazybee I can't believe the Police are unable to stop the flowers being fixed on a private house owners fen I can understand how frightened the owner must be.
Lets just hope and prey the family of this burglar have no ideas of taking the funeral procession past/down this Road when the time arrives,they certainly have the brass neck to try something like that.

The neighbours have a right to be concerned. At present this grieving family are content to battle over laying flowers as they are getting press coverage, but when the attention has passed elsewhere they will return , and pour gloss paint through letter boxes and over parked cars.
This is the favoured method of reprisal where I live, from several long-established 'traveller' families, caught attempting to steal; the youngest recruits obligingly left their fingerprints, which is how they were identified.

I think the neighbour whose fence has been turned into a "shrine" has removed and thrown down all the flowers, while uttering the word "scumbag" repeatedly.

The Met have isssed a statement part of which mentions getting the la involved - I wonder if they are thinking this way Mama? It would certainly be less heavy handed.

Am I right in thinking that the flowers at such 'shrines' are usually in some sort of wrapping paper? Why can't they be classed as litter and immediately be removed by the authorities in this instance?

I wouldn’t even ask Iam.

It's dreadful that the home owner and his wife can't return to their home. I doubt they ever will be able to do so because of possible reprisals from the burglar's family.
Shrines are a long standing tradition amongst the Irish travelling communities.
Laying flowers at the site of accidents or violent deaths isn't against the law. I expect the Police have considered what, if any, laws could be used to prevent the flowers being left. I imagine that women traditionally lay flowers and also that the men are keeping away for strategic reasons ie, to avoid scraps.
I live in hope that the police may find a legal way to prevent the shrines. If it was my fence I'd be angry but as others have said, may feel too intimidated to do anything much other than ask politely "could you take those flowers down from my fence, please"

It took Basildon council 10 years to evict 'travellers' ( that's a joke) from an illegal site called Dale Farm.
What hope to stop them tying up bunches of flowers on a fence.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed that there were no 'men' bearing flowers. Too busy laying crap tarmac drives or 'replacing' dodgy roof tiles.
Thank god there were a few men with balls who ripped the crap down.

I’m afraid that I am at a loss to understand why people do this. I can’t think that it would ease my grief much.
We have a “shrine” at the end of our road at the moment, a young man, about 29 I think, was killed in an accident that I understand may have been caused by his extremely speedy motorbike riding.
It has been there since before Christmas and it all looks appalling. I’m tempted to go and remove it but haven’t the courage.
Why don’t they remove the cellophane wrapping round the flowers then at least they would rot away. As for the helmet and cans of beer words fail me.
I presume these thieving travellers think they are showing “respect” to the dead man. If it acts as a threat to those poor people then I suppose they think that’s a bonus.

I doubt the brave pensioner will ever be able to return to his home as most traveller's sites are now council provided and static. Not exactly what you plan for in your retirement.
As for the makeshift shrine, the owner of the fence is probably terrified of reprisals against his family and property if he or she takes any action, I know I would be. The travelling community seem to be a law unto themselves and the Police pussyfoot around them worried about being seen as ethnically incorrect.

The burglar would not be dead if he had not entered that house illegally. I agree, the family have no shame, one would think that he was there legally the way they are carrying on. Put the flowers at their travellers site but then the public would be unlikely to see them.

I agree Miss it must be awful

No, I don't believe removing the flowers will do anything.
Its a much deeper rooted problem than that.
I don't know what the answer is, but I know I wouldn't want to live in a place where a few families are feared to that extent.

What it means is that unless the family are arrested for breaking a law, then they can’t be stopped as regrettable as that is. What do we mean by ‘standing up to them’ ? I suppose those tearing the flowers down are standing g up to them but it’s not solving the problem is it? I wonder if ther3 are any community leaders eg vicars who might try and help?

It just means then, that the family can do exactly as they want, with nobody willing or able to stand up to them.

eazy good post. I wouldn’t expect the fence owner for one minute to object - I doubt he has a death wish and I really don’t see what the police can realistically do - I don’t mean that they shouldn’t do something but I don’t see what

I have never understood the need for families to create shrines at the place where their relative died, particularly when they died in a violent way, (car accident, fight, suicide).

If they feel the need to create a shrine and a cemetery isn't appropriate, then they should be in a private place that belongs to the family; roadside memorials are particularly distracting to drivers and quickly deteriorate.

I believe the fence owner has the right to object to his property being used in this way, but he is probably feeling intimidated by the relatives he has to deal with; the police need to intervene.

the man didn't die on that spot but in another street so the flowers should not be placed where the family are laying them

I think they should be allowed to honour their family member in flowers if they wish but ON THEIR OWN LAND definitely not on that fence It is a threat and a message of threat and the police should be clearing it whenever necessary
That poor couple must be in turmoil and probably never be able to safely return to their home In a brief moment in time their whole life was turned upside down through no fault of their own

This is totally unacceptable in my eyes and it shames us as a society that to some degree we are helpless in relieving the extra stress that this "floral act" must cause to the poor man and his disabled wife, whose house was burgled.
Of course the majority of the country are up in arms agreeing what the poor pensioner did was only protect himself,his helpless wife and their home.Had the burglars not pin pointed his home,entering and causing great unrest none of this would ever have occured.
The burglar`s family just totally fail to see the point.
Whilst now obviously they are left to grieve their dead member but are forgetting that the older couple now are basically homeless and it is doubtful that they will ever have one moments peace in the years ahead.
They are being punished over and over yet completely innocent.
It really sucks!
As for the man whose fence is being used to form this so called shrine,he too and his family, although innocent in all this must feel totally handicapped, and are fearing doing anything that might bring the ex burglar`s families wrath on his household.
Come on Police,there must be a way to halt these acts........before there is more blood shed.

Yes I agree lemongrove they have no shame - they live by a totally different code. So their sense of decency or respect can’t be appealed to - in fact tearing the flowers down will just fuel their burning sense of injustice. I expect it will just go on until everyone runs out of steam really because I don’t see what the police can do about it. I suppose there will have to be an inquest so that will open it up again.

gilly those kind of career criminal families have no shame, it’s their line of ‘work’ and considered normal to them.

I feel its a deliberately threatening act on the part of the burglars family.

I can’t believe the lack of shame shown by the relatives of the armed burglar who broke into an elderly couples home intent on robbing them blind and/or doing them serious harm.

I don’t know what to think about this - we’ve had this ‘tradition’ of flowers being left now for ages (Diana?)and whilst I don’t like it in general it’s not breaking any laws. I once passed a flower shrine on a country road for three young men killed in a car crash by their own drunken driving - but DH knew the totally innocent woman they killed in the other car days before her retirement after a lifetime of service. I felt it was completely inappropriate at all levels. I don’t like the kind of vigilantism that tears them down - I wish it were possible for the police to be able to move them to a place where he had lived. It’s terrible what happened - I can’t imagine going through what the man and his wife suffered and doubt they’ll ever know peace again.