Man arrested as memorial recovered

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A 57-year-old Penketh man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a memorial plaque commemorating the lives of two boys killed in the Warrington bombing almost 20 years ago – and the memorial has been recovered intact. CCTV images have also been released of other people police would like to quiz over the incident.
Cheshire Police launched a widespread appeal for information after the plaque was stolen from a wall in Bridge Street sometime between 20 April and 5 May. It forms part of the River of Life – a memorial for victims of the Warrington bombing in 1993 including three-year-old Johnathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry. It was unveiled by the Duchess of Kent when she opened the memorial as a symbol of continuing life.
This morning, (Saturday June 9), officers arrested a 57 year old man from the Penketh area of Warrington on suspicion of theft. Following interview by detectives, the man was granted police bail until July 5 pending further investigation. At the time of the mans arrest, the memorial plaque was recovered in its original state.
The theft, which was first reported on warrington-worldwide, attracted widespread condemnation and a reward was put up for the return of the plaque.
As part of this continued investigation, detectives have also now released CCTV of further suspects police wish to trace.
Richard Strachan, Chief Superintendent for Warrington and Halton, said “This investigation is progressing successfully and I would like to thank the communities of Warrington for their assistance, and acknowledge the continued support from Warrington Borough Council, particularly the work of town centre CCTV operatives in advancing our enquiries. I would urge anyone who recognises the men captured in these CCTV images to contact us as soon as possible”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Warrington CID on 101.


Do you recognise these people who police would like to question in relation to the incident?


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Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.

7 Comments

  1. The theft was bad enough but even more shocking that a local man could do such a thing. No excuse for him not knowing what the plaque was there for !!!!!!!!! PS where are the CCTV images ?

  2. I know what this man did is dispicable, but to my mind, what is sadder, is the fact that nobody even noticed it was missing (taken sometime beteen 20/04 and 05/05).

    And yes, the fact that he is a local man should be taken into account when sentence is passed

  3. What I don’t understand is if these CCTV images have been available all along, why did the reports at the time state that nobody knew when the plaque was stolen? The protracted debates about just how this could happen given the amount of cameras in the area and also the uncaring attitude of the public seems to have been a total waste of our time.

    Last week, I criticised one local individual for withholding evidence from the police and now a week later I think I have some sympathy with him. If the police want the assistance of the public via the media then they shouldn’t treat people this way. If for legal reasons they can’t tell or show us something, then let them say so rather than misleading us like this.

  4. This is disgusting, i cant believe that anyone would even do this and what makes it worse is the fact that there from Penketh so they should know what its there for.

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