A plaque on a memorial bench dedicated to killer Raoul Moat appeared at a Merseyside seaside resort.
Sharing a photo of the small plaque on social media on Sunday, the Twitter user said "spotted this down New Brighton front". The memorial read: "In loving memory of Raoul Moat, 1973 - 2010, Taken too soon, D&A xx."
It is unclear who installed the plaque and or when it was put up. However, Wirral Council have since removed it and confirmed it was not authorised by the local authority. In July 2010, Moat killed one person and injured two others in a two-day shooting spree before going on the run for almost a week, with police hunting him down, reports the Daily Star.
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The 37-year-old's victims were his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and her new boyfriend Chris Brown in Gateshead. Mr Brown died after being shot and Ms Stobbart was seriously injured.
The former club doorman then went on the run which led to a police manhunt. During this time Moat shot PC David Rathband, leaving him blind. Tragically, PC Rathband took his own life less than two years after receiving his injuries.
Moat was eventually cornered by police in a field in Rothbury, where he then took his own life on July 10, 2010. The person who posted the image of the plaque confirmed that the bench was near the New Brighton fair.
People were shocked to see the plaque at the Wirral waterfront. One user on Twitter wrote: “Surely not this has got to be some sick joke and not actually someone trying to be compassionate.” While another said: “This has got be the result of a twisted sense of humour.”
The tweet has been liked more than 14,000 times, with around 972 retweets. Responding to the picture, a Wirral Council spokesperson said: "This was not authorised or put in place by Wirral Council. As we do with any vandalism or graffiti we would investigate the report and it would be removed as quickly as possible after being reported to the council, In this case the plaque has now been removed."
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