Mum marks son's birthday at Scarborough memorial bench

A mother has been able to visit a bench in memory of her son for the first time since lockdown restrictions were eased.

Julie Spence, from Leeds, travels to Scarborough on the anniversary of her eight-year-old son Callum's death each year.

This year she was not able to go and a number of residents decided to lay flowers on the bench for her.

The family were finally able to travel to Scarborough on Saturday on what would have been Callum's 24th birthday.

"The worry was still there, you know, saying to yourself 'don't go back into lockdown'," Julie said.

"We had a lovely day, it was just really good to be there. It was a little bit emotional seeing his bench and things, but we had a little party for him."

Callum Lister was hit by a vehicle on 12 May 2005 and died in hospital the next day.

The family chose to erect a memorial bench in Scarborough because it was where they had been for their last family holiday.

Julie's routine is usually to visit the cemetery in Leeds and with her family then travel by train to Scarborough and spend some time at the bench.

Unable to travel in May, she appealed on Facebook in the hope someone would visit for her and was overwhelmed when a number of people responded.

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