Wood statue is unveiled in home town
Tower victims furious over report delay
TRIBUTE Comic’s bronze A STATUE of late comedian and actress Victoria Wood has been unveiled in her home town.
Family, friends and fans gathered in Bury, Gtr Manchester, to see the 6ft bronze, which shows her with a mic in her hand.
It stands opposite Bury Library – where she stole books because she was too shy to ask how to join.
The joint project by Bury Council and Wood’s estate was sculpted by Graham Ibbeson and part-funded by an appeal set up by her brother, Chris Foote Wood.
He said: “She left us a great legacy we can see in videos but I wanted to see something permanent.
“I imagine Victoria’s ghost having a chuckle when she looks at this.”
Wood died of cancer in April 2016, aged 62. Survivor Leanne on BGT stage
But for Grenfell Tower survivor Leanne Mya, 31, performing was bliss because she knows what real fear feels like.
Leanne brought Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams to tears with her performance of Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down in the audition rounds.
She said: “I started to feel like myself again, after months of feeling a bit lost. I enjoy getting lost in my music as it’s somewhere that
I can both hide, but also be myself.”
On June 14, 2017, Leanne leapt from the window of her second floor flat with her then partner Joseph and 13-month-old son, and watched for six hours as the blaze which killed 72 engulfed the West London block.
Leanne hopes her BGT appearance will ensure the nation remembers the lives lost and torn apart. She said: “I needed to do something to highlight the plight of the victims of the fire and the injustice of it all.
“Our lives are upside down. We will never let people forget what happened.
“My hope is that one day our voices will finally be heard, and the show has given me an opportunity to help create a LEANNE MYA BGT SINGER AND GRENFELL SURVIVOR
Wherever life takes us we’ll make sure people know our stories
GRENFELL blaze survivors have blasted the disaster inquiry for running months behind schedule.
Its findings, which were due in the spring, will now not be published until October.
And the inquiry admitted the Burning tower ■ second phase of the process, which was due to start this year, will not begin until January 2020.
Survivor Natasha Elcock, the chairwoman of Grenfell United, said: “Six months after hearing our evidence the inquiry is yet to make a single recommendation to keep people safe in their homes. We want... to get to the truth, but there must be no more delays.”
The inquiry said: “Writing the phase one report has proved far more complex than anticipated.”