Family devastated by removal of tributes to Shropshire woman killed in crash
The family of a young Shropshire woman killed in a crash have said they are devastated after floral tributes in her memory were removed.
Tara Lear-Jones, aged 24, of Lowe Hill Road, Wem, was killed when her car was involved in a single vehicle crash on the A539 at Penley, near Ellesmere, in January.
Last week her family and boyfriend, Dean Edwards, placed flowers at the scene in Tara's memory.
Mr Edwards said he had put a post up at the scene of a crash with flowers as a tribute, and also with the hope of encouraging people to take care on the road where Miss Lear-Jones was killed.
But shortly after the flowers were left, they were taken away.
Mr Edwards said: "I went up last Sunday and put up a post with artificial flowers on it to act as a memorial and also with the hope that speeding drivers might slow down because they can see a fatal crash had been there.
"I find it very hard to go to the scene so it took a lot to go and put up the tribute. A few hours later I got a call saying the tribute had been removed. It is shocking to think that anyone would do that and we are all devastated. We can't believe it."
Mr Edwards said more than £1,000 was raised for charity at Tara's funeral, which "brought Wem to a standstill".
The money was split between Age UK and Hope House.
Mr Edwards added: "We are trying to make good memories of her now and the cemetery where she is buried has lots of flowers.
"Her funeral brought Wem to a standstill – there were people everywhere and the church was packed. It shows the respect everyone had for her – she was always doing things for others and never out for herself."
Tara, who went to Thomas Adams School in Wem, was a care worker from Phoenix Homecare, which has branches in Oswestry, Penley and Wem.
In the days following her death, Tara's family paid tribute to a "much loved daughter, sister, aunty, granddaughter and girlfriend".
They said: "We all love her so much and no words can explain how we are feeling right now.
"Tara thought the world of her nieces and nephew and we will make sure they know how much she loved them when they are older. A massive piece has been taken from our family and we are just left with heartache.
"We love you forever and always Tara xx."
