VANDALS who callously snapped a tree planted in memory of a young man who died of meningitis have been branded “sick, sad and disgusting”

VANDALS who callously snapped a tree planted in memory of a young man who died of meningitis have been branded “sick, sad and disgusting”.

Shocked members of the public arrived at Jubilee Gardens in Ely on Saturday morning to find that a memorial tree planted by the parents of former Witchford Village College student Ken Pease, had been snapped clean in half and left laying in the dirt.

Ken, who lived in Little Thetford, died aged 18 in 1986 after contracting a rare form of meningitis and a tree was planted in the gardens by his family along with a plaque to honour his memory.

Clear-up teams from the district council had to be called to come and remove the broken tree from the garden on Saturday, and it is the second time the tree has had to be replaced in less than two years following attacks by vandals.

Ken’s mother Hilda Pease, told the Ely Standard: “I was heartbroken when I heard the news because I just cant understand why someone would want to do that. I really feel sorry for the people who did do it and I just hope that they will be brave enough to come and apologise to us.

“I haven’t asked yet but am I hoping that they will allow us to plant a new one in the gardens because I do like to look at Ken’s spot in the gardens every time I drive past.”

Linda Adams of Ely Riverside Association, said: “It is sick, sad and disgusting when something like that happens.

“There is a total lack of respect for public property and this is terrible for a family believing they had a memorial to their son that would proudly bear his name for many years.”