Boy accused of murdering Benjamin, 17
TEENAGER IN COURT FOLLOWING INCIDENT IN TOWN CENTRE
A YOUTH has appeared in court charged with the murder of Swadlincote teenager Benjamin Orton.
The 16-year-old suspect, whose identity is protected due to his age, was remanded in custody. People in Swadlincote have spoken of their shock at the death of Benjamin, 17, at the weekend.
A COMMUNITY has told how they have been left in shock after the death of a teenager as a police murder investigation continues.
Benjamin Orton, 17, died in Swadlincote town centre on Saturday night. Police had been called to reports of an assault in an alleyway at the side of the Odeon cinema, in Coppice Side, at The Pipeworks retail park just before 10.40pm.
A 20-year-old man was also found with serious, and potentially life-changing, injuries. He was taken to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition, police said.
Now those who live and work in Swadlincote have spoken of their shock at hearing what has happened, especially to someone so young.
Andy Chalmers said: “It’s almost unheard of for something like this to happen around here but it clearly has. It’s frightening that it’s happened.
“I’m in shock and horror, and disbelief as you never think it could happen in your own backyard. Swad is normally a really friendly place and close knit and lots of people know each other.
“You hear about it happening in places like Nottingham but for it to happen in Swad is really scary and it will make people scared. The last thing that happened like this was a stabbing five or six years ago. It’s terrible.”
One man, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s tragic, I have lived through it. I lived down south when it happened to my family but you don’t expect it in Swad; it’s too much of a small town.”
Another resident said: “It’s a shock and you don’t expect it. I was shocked when I saw it on social media but I don’t know much about it.
“I drove past on the way to work and it’s still all policed off and it was quite surreal to see it to be fair.
“It’s shocking and tragic to think that something like this has happened around here as it’s a quiet town.
“I’m not one for walking around at 10.30 at night anyway so I don’t feel concerned about walking around outside on my own anyway but maybe if I was around at that time of night it would unnerve me. I would be a bit more cautious but I’m not normally about.
“I do feel for the boy’s family – it must be devastating.”
Stephen Collier, owner of S Colliers Butchers, said: “It’s a bit frightening when it’s on your own doorstep. It did shock me when I heard about it first thing this morning. “It’s the lad’s family that I feel for.”
Karen Winson, store manager at the Lighthouse Shop, said: “I grew up in Swad and it’s really shocking to be honest. I can’t help but feel for his family and what they must be going through. It’s unheard of in Swad.
“I woke up and found out on social media and found it quite scary. It’s shook the whole community, it really has. “I do take some comfort from seeing the police about; that’s exactly what you want to see when something so tragic happens. I hope they catch the people who did this and there will not be a repeat.
“All of our thoughts are with the family at this time, there are no words.”
Tabitha Workman, of Stan’s Pals pet shop, said: “It’s a shock, you don’t expect that in a little town. I only moved here two years ago and it’s a nice place.”
One woman, who wanted to be known only as Jo from Swad, said: “It’s very sad and you don’t like to think about it on your own doorstep. You see it every day in the papers about something happening like this somewhere but nothing ever happens like that around here.
“I lived in Birmingham for most of my life so I saw it most of the time but people are really friendly here.” One man said: “It’s a shock and such a worry. He was such a young age.”
Police want anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident and noticed any people or vehicles on the roads surrounding The Pipeworks retail park to get in touch.
Information can be submitted directly to the investigation team at https://bit.ly/2tttldu
Alternatively, call 101 quoting reference 1397-120621.
I grew up in Swad and it’s really shock, to be honest. I can’t help but feel for his family.
Karen Winson
A MUM who has relatives buried in an East Staffordshire churchyard has launched a petition calling for rules on what mementoes can be left on graves to be relaxed.
Some families who visit graves of loved ones at St Mary’s Church in Church Street in Tutbury are angry that sentimental items like flowers and ornaments left on graves have been cleared away.
They also claim the rules on what can be put on graves at the churchyard need to be made clearer. However, a spokesman for the church says families are made fully aware of the rules when they decide to take a burial plot at the site.
Now, a woman from Burton has set up a petition calling for the rules to be relaxed so families can leave items such as photographs in frames and other personal tributes to their loved ones.
Emily Hunt, 29, who set up the petition, claimed: “Lots of people I have spoken to have families in Tutbury churchyard. There was a lot of squabbling and it wasn’t really clear what was going on.
“There has been a complete lack of communication from the church. I am particularly concerned about the church’s approach to enforcing rules regarding what can and cannot be placed on the graves and am aware of others voicing a similar opinion.
“The church is removing flowers and other objects from graves. I am hoping to get them to reconsider the rules. We are just asking for clarity and a sensitive and sensible approach.
“It is a really well-kept area and I am not there to judge how other people mourn. I think the whole thing has been handled poorly by those involved at the church.
“People don’t feel listened to. My nan, Moreen Severn, goes up to visit the site a lot and she wouldn’t have known about the rules if I didn’t tell her.”
It comes after a couple told of their trinkets were removed from their dead daughter’s gave by church staff earlier this year.
Norman Lightfoot and his wife Patricia regularly visit their daughter Deborah’s grave in St Mary’s Churchyard and they said they were very upset when they were told that edgings, ornaments and any silk flowers would have to removed from her grave.
A tearful, Mr Lightfoot, 84, said: “Deborah died from cancer aged 38, 20 years ago, leaving three children.
“We are absolutely broken-hearted about it. We told the vicar to leave the damn thing alone.”
Ms Hunt added: “Lots of people’s loved ones are in there. We want to know if there is any flexibility to the rules? Once Covid restrictions are over, we want to know if there is a possibility to host a town meeting of some sort. There needs to be less online bickering and more constructive progress.”
A spokesperson from the parochial church council the church said: “Churchyards are beautiful and sacred places which are clearly important to our local community and for those who have loved ones buried here.
“There are clear guidelines, produced by the Chancellor of the Diocese of Lichfield, to ensure that churchyards remain a fitting and safe place for people to visit and pay their respects.
“The guidelines are written as a compromise between the uniformity of a military cemetery and free-for-all expressions of grief. These include restrictions on mini gardens, kerbstones, concrete, stone and slate chippings, metal, glass, plastic and objects like wind chimes, windmills or solar lights. These are the guidelines that families sign up to when they request burial of their loved one in the churchyard and again when a headstone is applied for.
“Sadly, such objects have been placed on several graves in St Mary’s churchyard in Tutbury and while we have sympathy with the newly bereaved, we have also had an instance of a hand injury caused by broken glass on a grave and we do not want to see that repeated.
“It was the unanimous decision taken by the parochial church council (PCC) to return the churchyard to the Diocesan Guidelines...we have spoken to several affected families and together we are looking at a way forward that ensures people can continue to honour their loved ones in a fitting and appropriate way in the churchyard”.
A SWADLINCOTE property developer gave a large donation to the Conservative party two days after the Government approved plans for a 625-home housing scheme.
John Bloor, 77, is behind housing giant Bloor Homes, which was given the go-ahead to build the houses on rural land in Herefordshire on March 15. Records show that 48 hours later Bloor Holdings donated £150,000 to the Conservative Party.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government did not say if Mr Bloor lobbied ministers ahead of these decisions, the Sunday Times reported.
Our sister papers The Derby Telegraph and The Mirror have approached Bloor Homes for comment.
Bloor Homes announced profits of £152 million last year and Swadlincotebased Mr Bloor has a fortune of £1.3 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
In previous years, he has donated large sums of money to the Conservative Party, making him one of their largest supporters.
He also donated almost £1 million to the party ahead of the 2019 General Election.
But last year Bloor failed to donate to the party for the first time in more than five years.
This changed in March after the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government gave Mr Bloor’s company the all-clear to build hundreds of homes in Ledbury, Herefordshire.
Bloor’s plans to build these new homes on rural land were initially denied by the local council, which claimed it would ruin the area’s natural beauty and bring in unwanted congestion. The Conservative government later approved the plan after taking control of the application.
Two days after green-lighting Bloor’s proposal, he donated £150,000 to the Conservative party.
He also currently has another application in place to build 1,000 new homes in Berkshire, which has also been rejected by the local council four times.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, headed by MP Robert Jenrick, recently took control of this application as well.
It is currently not known if they will give Bloor’s next venture approval.
Mr Bloor, Bloor Homes and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government have all been approached for comment.