A roadside memorial for a motorcyclist who was killed in a traffic accident on Mandurah Road has been destroyed by vandals.
Ben Kelly’s grieving parents arrived at the memorial early on Sunday morning to discover wreckage where his cross should have been.
Mr Kelly’s mother Kylie Vernon said she couldn’t sleep on Sunday morning and went to the memorial about 3am to find the memorial cross sawn off at the base.
Mr Kelly’s father Darrin Vernon said: “God help them if I find out who it was”.
“They’ve butchered it, cut through it with a handsaw; the cross is just gone,” he said.
“They’ve taken it between seven last night and three this morning.
“We came down here last night because Kylie couldn’t sleep and we could as we’ve come around the corner, we’ve seen it’s gone.”
On Sunday morning, Mr Vernon and friends of Mr Kelly replaced the cross.
“If they cut it down, we’ll put it back,” Mrs Vernon said.
Mr Kelly died in July when a car collided with his motorcycle on Mandurah Road in Meadow Springs, and his family and friends erected the cross to remember him and as a reminder for other motorists to take care.
But Main Roads WA had threatened to remove the cross because it was a “distraction” for motorists.
Mr and Mrs Vernon said they were planning a protest next month against the removal of the cross.
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
