COUNTY council chiefs have revealed a memorial to Tom Jones will be created on Sabrina Bridge when it is refurbished next year.
The 18-year-old University of Worcester student went missing last month after a night out during Freshers’ Week and his body was found in the River Severn eight days later.
After speaking to Tom’s family, Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City Council have agreed to remove all the tributes today (Wednesday) with the full support of his parents.
Council chiefs have yet to reveal what the memorial will be but highways boss Jon Fraser said: “It has been such an incredibly hard time for the family but the number of tributes on the bridge just go to show how well loved Tom was.
“They have already been on to the bridge and taken away specific mementos to remember their son. The flowers will be turned into compost and put into the riverside flower beds and city centre parks,” he added.
Sabrina Bridge became the focal point for friends and family to gather after the 18-year-old was found – with more than 1,000 people gathering for a vigil to pay tribute to Tom.
At the gathering, flowers were laid, messages of condolence were left and candles were lit as grieving friends attempted to ‘light up the whole city in his memory’.
Tom was a big Oasis fan and renditions of some of the band’s music were sung by the crowds who had gathered.
A fund-raising page for memorials at places close to Tom has now raised close to £8,000.
Among those are South Bromsgrove High School, where he was a pupil, Bromsgrove Sporting, as he played for the club’s youth teams, West Bromwich Albion, the team he supported, and the University of Worcester where he had started his course just days before his disappearance.
Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Remember-Jonah for more.
