A grieving community has been devastated by an attack on the shrine of a city ‘legend’ and ‘character’ as police investigate the vandalism and tributes continue to pour in.
Video footage has emerged of a woman knocking items off the memorial to ‘Kenny’ or ‘Ken’ outside the Co-op in Lichfield Avenue in Ronkswood, Worcester.
The pensioner, believed to be 73, would often be found outside the Co-op, and people would buy him sandwiches, cans or give him loose change or stop to have a chat with him.
Kenny’s Caribbean roots
His real name was Kelly Hewitt from St Lucia, readers said. However, he became known to the wider community as ‘Kenny’. Tributes were laid at the front of the Co-op, including bouquets of flowers, cans, bottles, coins, and messages of love from his friends.
Meanwhile, anecdotes shared on the Worcester News Facebook page shine a light on his charm, humour and kindness.
RESPECT: Abigail Brown knew Kenny for most of her life and was heartbroken when his memorial outside the Co-op in Lichfield Avenue in Ronkswood, Worcester was damaged (Image: Facebook (used with permission))
However, reports on the Facebook group, Worcester Madness, that the shrine to Kenny had been vandalised caused anger and sadness. Footage has been shared of a woman knocking items from the shrine outside the Co-op on Sunday.
Reaction to attack on memorial and police response
Abigail Brown, 25, knew Kenny for 21 years, including his real name and his Caribbean connections and was saddened by the damage to the memorial.
She said: “Seeing the CCTV footage made my heart sink. Watching someone trample all over Ken’s memorial was incredibly upsetting, not just for me but for everyone in the community who loved and respected him.
“While I understand that the person responsible was reportedly experiencing mental health issues, and I don’t hold anger towards them personally, it doesn’t take away from how heartbreaking it was to see the memorial treated that way. The memorial is a place where people come to remember Ken and pay their respects so seeing it vandalised has been deeply upsetting for us all.”
TRIBUTES: The memorial to Kenny outside the Co-op in Lichfield Avenue in Ronkswood, Worcester (Image: James Connell/Newsquest)
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: “We received a call around 3.20pm on Sunday afternoon with a report of criminal damage on Lichfield Avenue in Worcester. Enquiries are ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Worcester News readers have continued to pay tribute to Kenny, describing him as a ‘lovely man’, a ‘harmless guy’, ‘Our Kenny’, a ‘wonderful guy’ and a ‘nice fellow’ as people shared their thoughts, prayers and messages of condolence.
Georgina Poole wrote: “His real name isn’t Kenny its actually Kelly but people would call him Kenny the reason I know this was he was at the Co-op one day and showed us a letter he was waiting on his cold weather payment going in so his real first name is Kelly not Kenny. An absolute gentleman, always polite and looked after my car obviously in exchange for a can of pop or a £1 lol. I didn’t mind x.”
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Residents remember him as a friendly figure who would chat with passers by, watch over their cars, and sometimes ask for small favours in return for a drink or snack.
Cheri Symmonds said: “Gutted about Kenny, Such a lovely man, spoke to him every day when going to the Co-op, always brought him a cheese sandwich and a can of Pepsi Max and he sometimes conned me into getting him a bottle of Bud. Often give him a lift home too!(Chelmsford Court).
“My Grandson Zaiyan loved him too! Kenny used to wave to him, when we went up Monday he said: ‘Nana, where’s Kenny?’ Kenny would always stand by my car too and look after my dog buddy, Such a character! Will miss you Kenny, Rest in Paradise. Trips to the Co-op won’t be the same xx.”
Hannah Walkley said: “He was just a harmless guy. He wasn’t a drunk or a drug addict out shooting up soon as got a quid he was genuinely harmless. When you live on a council estate, we look after each other. He never caused us any bother, and we all looked out for him.”
Cheyenne Kayla Drummond described him as ‘one of a kind; said even though he could be a ‘pain at times, we wouldn’t want it any other way.”
