Vandals wreck memorial to young motorcyclist who died in road accident

The sister of a tragic motorcyclist has launched an appeal for witnesses after vandals destroyed a memorial tree dedicated to her brother.
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Jordan Brown died in February after his motorbike collided with a car at the junction of Hulme Road and Wigan Road in Leigh. He was 24 years old.

In the days following his tragic death, family and friends gathered at a tree close to where he died, holding a candlelit vigil and setting up a shrine to his memory. It included a metal silhouette of a motorbike, inscribed with Jordan’s name, handmade candle holders, as well as pictures of Jordan with loved ones.

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But yesterday, Jordan’s sister Jenna took to social media to reveal that heartless vandals had wrecked the memorial.

She shared shocking images of the tree daubed in white paint, and tinsel that had been recently added to the tree for Christmas ripped off and strewn on the ground.

She told Wigan Today: “I found out when one of my brothers messaged me, he had seen some pictures that someone had taken of it.

“It’s just frustrating. I’ve always made sure it looks nice and respectful, always made sure it looks nice, and then someone has trashed it for the sake of it. I don’t know what’s wrong with people.

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She added: “I've not been up to it yet, but I’m going to go and re-do it all because by the looks of it they’ve destroyed it all. They even ripped off the candle holder which we drilled into the tree. My dad made that by hand.

“They’ve ripped up all the flowers, smashed all the candles and lights, and took all the Christmas decorations off.”

Jenna also wrote online: “I’m heartbroken and devastated that someone would do something like this. I have always made sure my little brother’s tree looks nice and respectful and we had just decorated it for Christmas with it being our first one without him.”

She also hopes that residents living on Wigan Road, in the vicinity of the tree, might have CCTV cameras that may have captured the culprits in the area.

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At the time of Jordan’s death, Jenna paid tribute to Jordan, who was an engineer, saying: “He loved anything with wheels, whether it was a skateboard or a BMX. And the bike’s just got bigger as he got older.”

Anyone with information on the damage can report it to police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.