Anguish after mum’s memorial tree taken
ATREE planted in a Southport Park in memory of a beloved mum has vanished weeks before her birthday.
The memorial to Lolita Balode has been removed from Hesketh Park, after her family planted it a year ago.
It was intended as a place for her friends to visit after she died following a long battle with cancer.
Her daughter, Inga Katkovska, said the 58-year-old loved to photograph the park and it was “her most favourite place”.
But on May 15, two weeks before Lolita’s birthday, the family received a message to say the tree and flowers were gone.
Sefton Council said that it believed a member of the public may have taken it.
Inga said: “Since we do not reside in the UK, but Mom lived and worked there for 10 years of her life, we wanted to have some place special for us and her friends still living in Southport to visit.
“She loved to [take photos] and her most favourite place to do it was Hesketh Park. She used to walk around and sit down on the chair next to the observatory.”
After Lolita, from Latvia, died Inga said it was an “easy decision” to order a tree from her home country.
At first, a small angel accompanied the tree, but earlier this month there were some small ornaments there as well.
Inga said: “It arrived and, together with a park employee, a suitable place was founded and [the] tree was planted.
“Now, a year later, it was starting to bloom with beautiful flowers until we got a message [to say] the tree was gone.”
A council spokesman said: “Sefton Council has not removed this memorial, so we assume it was taken by another visitor to the park.
“We would like to remind people that while we don’t give permission for placing personal memorials in parks, people wanting to use local open spaces to remember a loved one can apply to us for a memorial bench.
“We have over 400 memorial benches in our parks, which are cared for by the council after installation.”
Inga said that the tree’s removal was “very upsetting” for the family but that they had forgiven whoever may be responsible.
They are now hopeful that a new tree can be planted in their mother’s name.
Inga added: “We have ordered new tree and will again get in touch with park employees to potentially find a new location to repeatedly plant a tree.
“We would like to have this special place to return to.”