The parents of two murdered girls known as the Babes in the Wood have thanked a funeral director and stonemason for cleaning their graves.
Michelle Hadaway and Barrie Fellows separately said thank you after – as Mrs Hadaway said – “Barrie put an SOS out.”
Best friends Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows were murdered in October 1986 in Wild Park, Brighton, by the late Russell Bishop.
Today (Saturday 4 February) Mrs Hadaway said: “Today is the 36th anniversary of the girls’ funeral.
“I just wanted to say a very big thank you to HJ Newington, the funeral directors. They went up there and gave the girls’ graves a proper clean.”
She also thanked Jeremy Tilley, at Tilleys Stonemasons, who helped to clean the memorial to the two nine-year-olds.
Mrs Hadaway said: “They’re not charging us and it was a lovely gesture.”
She added: “I can just close my eyes and it’s like yesterday. It doesn’t go away.”
Barrie Fellows posted on the Brighton People page on Facebook: “I am pleased to tell everyone on here who answered my call for help in cleaning my daughter Nicola and her friend Karen’s memorial that a gentleman called Harry Newington volunteered to do it for me at no cost.”
Mr Fellows thanked everyone else who responded to his plea, adding of Mr Newington: “He has done a great job and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Harry Newington posted photographs on Facebook and said: “Yesterday was a true honour cleaning the graves of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, who sadly had their life taken at a very young age in 1986.
“As a community, it really is essential to come together to support one another when something so tragic happens on our doorstep.
“Although time has passed, it is still important to remember the two young girls who I know will be in all our thoughts.”
“We couldn’t have done this without the help of Tilleys Stonemasons, who assisted in cleaning the memorial.”
