WE WANT RHYS KILLER TO SEE OUR PAIN

Parents speak out on new TV drama

THE grieving parents of murdered 11-year-old Rhys Jones want his killer to face the horror he caused.

As new TV drama Little Boy Blue recreates the tragedy, his mum reveals: “Our pain will never go”.

RHYS Jones’ grieving parents want his killer to face up to the horror he caused.

The shooting that claimed the life of the young football fan a decade ago has been recreated for new TV drama Little Boy Blue.

Everton-mad Rhys was just 11 when he was shot by Sean Mercer, who was surrounded by fellow gang members.

His mum and dad Mel and Steve told us: “We spoke openly to the programme makers about what we went through because we wanted to let Mercer and the others involved in Rhys’ murder know that our sentence never ends.

“Our pain will only fade. It will never go away. By trying to avoid the consequences of their actions they only increased that pain.

“We wanted them to know that there is no closure for us, even from a guilty verdict, because it cannot give us what we want…our son back.”

Mel and Steve – and their son Owen – worked closely with executive producer and writer Jeff Pope on the four-parter.

Jeff said: “It wasn’t like the act happened and a year or so later there’s a court case and that’s it.

“With this drama they wanted to say ‘no, that’s not it…we want you to understand exactly what you’ve done’.”

The couple added: “We wanted to show how the pressure we were placed under, the huge weight of grief thrust upon us, the endless waiting, and not knowing if we would get justice for Rhys, can tear a family apart.”

Mercer went on trial for Rhys’ killing in late 2008. He was later sentenced to life in prison.

Mel and Steve want the public to see how “disrespectful” Mercer was to them in court.

Jeff said: “When Steve and Owen came to filming the court scene it was extremely emotional for them. “One of the things they had impressed on me was ‘people won’t believe how badly behaved they were’ because the accused were very disrespectful in court.

“They were very impressed with the actors playing the accused. “When they saw that recreation they were really uplifted.” Mel and Steve faced months of heartache by choosing to re-live their toughest moments.

But they did it to help other parents who have lost a child.

They said: “Our decision to get involved with Little Boy Blue stemmed principally from a desire to honour our son Rhys whom we lost 10 years ago.”

Jeff said: “It was very emotional. They watched it privately with Owen and we went and had a chat. There were tears. But they were gratified and relieved.

“I think they found it a positive experience.”

Little Boy Blue starts at 9pm on ITV tomorrow.