Battle of the bouquets for stabbed burglar
The battle of the floral tributes to the burglar killed in a south London house flared up once more, with bouquets placed by his family being torn down. Residents told of their desire for a return to normal life after the death of Henry Vincent during a raid on the house of a pensioner.
‘When other people die they put up flowers. Why can’t we? We’re not allowed because we’re gipsies’
‘I’m sick of all this fuss. We just want the travellers to stay away and let things get back to normal’
Red carnations trampled underfoot still in their cellophane. Pale chrysanthemum petals strewn carelessly in the gutter. Blue florists’ ribbons threaded through the slats of a high garden fence in a quiet corner of south London suburbia.
Across the road two uniformed officers stand outside the house of Richard Osborn-brooks, its boarded windows and police tape bearing witness to the fact that this ordinary postwar semi is now a crime scene.
But ordinary life has become a thing of the past here in Hither Green; despite the neatly clipped hedges, the gardens planted with spring hyacinths and the Range Rovers parked in driveways, behind the net curtains there is simmering conflict.
These crushed tributes are the visible signs of an extraordinary – and frightening – clash of cultures that has put anxious residents at loggerheads with local travelling families.
This is the scene at Hither Green, where a floral shrine to burglar Henry Vincent has been repeatedly erected by the travelling community and torn down again by local residents – no fewer than four times.
Vincent, 37, a career criminal, entered the home of 78-year-old Mr Osborn-brooks and his wife in the early hours of last Wednesday. His accomplice, who remains on the run, went upstairs. Vincent, who was carrying a screwdriver, died after a struggle with Mr Osborn-brooks, who was first arrested and then released without charge.
Since then, Vincent’s family, who describe themselves as gipsies, have been engaged in a standoff with local householders. As each tribute is removed, they have returned to replace it.
Early yesterday a dozen or more bouquets were fastened to the fence by those blue ribbons, along with sympathy cards, poems, a child’s teddy bear.
Then, as the news cameras rolled, local resident Iain Gordon ripped the flowers off, jumped on them, mocked the teddy and poured scorn on the poor grammar of heartfelt cards.
One of them read: “I will never be ashamed to call you my Daddy and you was the best one I could ask for, I’m a proud daughter. I love you Daddy. From your Pet, your Second Baby.”
It was painful, provocative, and totally lacking in humanity. But that is precisely the accusation being levelled at the family and friends of Vincent who have left the flowers on the fence opposite number 23, where Mr Osborn-brooks and his wife are currently no longer living.
“It’s a really upsetting thing to see,” said Janet Gummerson, 87, who was walking her Spanish rescue dog, Amber. “That shrine makes that burglar out to be some sort of hero when he was breaking into someone’s home and doing harm. This is a nice area and we don’t want to become notorious for all this; my big concern is what will happen when the Catford travellers’ site opens.”
Again and again, local people talk of “Catford” and how the conversion of an area near the Ravensbourne River known as Pool Court, into a permanent site for travellers will impact on the wider community. But all that is in the future. For now, there is fear and not a little hostility towards travellers who have been doing work in and around Hither Green, repairing driveways.
Rumours abound that one elderly man was charged £1,600 to replace a single tile on his roof; true or not, it is fuelling suspicions.
Jack Smith, a 21-year-old student, said it was “common knowledge” that travellers had been “casing” homes as they went door-to-door.
“Over the last couple of days, ever since the flowers were left, a traveller has been slowly driving around the crescent every couple of hours, trying to intimidate us,” he said. “I’m not afraid but I can imagine some of the elderly couples must be feeling very upset by it.”
Most residents in the crescent, where three-bedroomed homes cost around £450,000, are no longer opening their doors to journalists. Passers-by hurried past the remains of this latest floral display, most of which now languishes in a council skip. But it’s an ill-wind however; by mid afternoon a 24-hour burglar alarm company car pulled up a few doors down from his home. No fewer than six red-jacketed Verisure representatives started cold-calling houses along the crescent.
Naked opportunism or astute business acumen? Either way they were getting a visibly warmer welcome than the camera crews.
“I’m sick of all this fuss,” said a middle-aged man from a nearby road. “We just want the travellers to stay away and let things get back to normal, it’s not fair to keep using those awful carnations to make us feel uncomfortable in our own homes.”
He almost spat out the words “awful carnations”; arguably not since the War of the Roses has any bloom taken on such threatening connotations.
For their part, Vincent’s family say the flowers and mementos are an entirely fitting reminder of their loved one. Earlier this week his cousin Elvina Lee spoke of her frustration at the destruction of the shrine.
“When other people die they put up flowers. Why can’t we?” she demanded. “We’re not allowed because we’re gipsies.”
The point could be made that this is about appropriate behaviour, regardless of background or ethnicity. But neither side is willing to back down.
The police have kept an eye on proceedings but as no crime has been committed they have wisely declined to intervene.
Amid accusation and counter accusation, the flowers have gone. Every night the number of bouquets falls. Will there be more carnations and chrysanthemums to greet the dawn this morning? As they open their curtains, the residents of Hither Green will be hoping that, despite the season, all trace of these particular flowers will have faded.
Chief Superintendent Simon Dobinson, Lewisham Borough commander, said he was aware of concerns raised by residents but that his officers “are not there to safeguard or facilitate the laying of floral tributes”.