The mother of a Bristol boy who died after battling a rare form of leukaemia has described the emotional scenes as his big sister was given the job of being the first to sit on a memorial bench at their primary school.
Clare Boxall said she hoped the bench installed at Park Primary School in Kingswood would be a place where all his friends could remember .
The bench was installed last week and is superhero-themed in memory of the eight-year-old.
“It was really quite emotional,” said Clare.
“All Lee’s friends gathered around to watch the bench being put in place, and his big sister Courtney was the first to sit on it.
“It was lovely to see all the kids sitting on it and around it and sharing their memories of playing with Lee there,” she added.
Lee died following a fight with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
He had already overcome the disease twice and had been waiting to have a bone marrow transplant when doctors found the cancer cells had returned last year.
His mum Clare started a fundraising campaign and created the Facebook group Fight For Lee’s Life, after doctors said there was no more they could do for her son.
Lee’s family and friends had raised thousands of pounds for the youngster to undergo intense treatment in Turkey in March. But the treatment had to be put on hold after Lee developed an infection which meant he could not travel.
Clare set up the to support other bereaved families.
“They’ve put flowers around it now, and in the summer when it’s nice, they said they’ll gather to do reading in class outside, which is lovely,” she added.
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