Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mother’s sadness as son’s memorial benches removed from Fife’s Lochore Meadows

The benches were installed in memory of Hazel's son Cole.
The benches were installed in memory of Hazel's son Cole.

A mother who lost her child in a car crash has expressed her sadness after discovering benches installed in memory of her son have been removed.

Hazel Gibson, from Lochgelly regularly visits Lochore Meadows, where the benches were erected for Cole after his death in 2011.

Cole died in a car crash on the A9 when he was seven years old.

The manager of the park, known as the Meedies, says the benches had to be removed as their condition deteriorated and became a safety risk.

Cole’s benches were removed without warning

Hazel said: “We realised a couple of weeks ago when my father came to visit from England.

“We hunted high and low but couldn’t find them. My partner walked round the whole of the park but didn’t see them.

“I got quite upset because they were up for a long time.”

Cole Gibson's memorial benches.
Cole Gibson’s memorial benches.

The benches were installed after a fundraising drive by people who live in Lochgelly.

Hazel takes her two children, 10-year-old Talon, Pandora, 5 and one-year-old Bjorn to visit the benches.

She said: “We decided on park benches because Cole was always at the Meedies and it was a nightmare dragging him out of there.

“He was also involved in the Kids Come First group and they quite often went to the meadows.

“He was constantly up there.”

Lochore Meadows Country Park.
Lochore Meadows Country Park.

The country park’s manager Ian Laing confirmed the benches had to be removed as they were badly degraded and becoming a health and safety risk.

He added: “We know these benches mean such a lot to the people who have donated them, but we had no records of the donor and we’re really sorry that we were not able to get in touch before they were removed.

“When benches are placed in the park, it’s on the basis that they remain the property of the donor and they are responsible for their maintenance.”

Hopes new benches can be installed

Hazel understands why she wasn’t contacted but hopes a new memorial can be installed next year.

She added: “There was no records left by the previous manager so when Ian started, there was nothing for him to go on.

“I understand why he couldn’t contact me but I’m annoyed that there was nothing on record and I fear that this may have happened to someone else.

“A lot of people choose to plant a tree but we’d want a new bench.

“It’s something the kids get really excited about, getting to visit their brother’s bench.”

Conversation