Family and friends gathered to celebrate what would have been the 17th birthday of a boy who was murdered when he was just 15.
Reece Tansey died in May of last year after being stabbed a number of times.
He was found on Walker Avenue in Great Lever.
Around 100 people gathered at Walker Avenue determined Reece, a former Harper Green High School pupil, will never be forgotten.
Hi aunt Sam Barnett organised a get together on Monday evening, close to where Reece lived, because she didn’t “want him to be forgotten”.
She said: “It’s the second birthday since he’s gone.
“And it’s just unbelievable to think it’s nearly two years since he’s passed.
“It’s come by so fast.
“I don’t want him to be forgotten and I want to make a point that he was here.
“He should be here to live his life, and it shouldn’t have been taken away so cruelly.
“All the people here today show how much he was loved.”
Sam says this is exactly what Reece would have wanted.
She added: “He would have wanted a party today and he would have loved it today.
“It’s hard to put into words and it’s still heart-breaking.
“No one has been the same since.
“We take each day as it comes.”
Sam was joined by Reece’s mum Laura, Reece’s uncle James, and many of Reece’s friends who all said how loved he was and how missed he was.
His uncle James said: “It’s hard to know we can’t bring him back.
“The teenagers here today show the impact of what it does not just to one family, but the whole community.
“It is the whole community that have suffered because of this.
“Reece was a massive part of our lives.
“He loved everybody and couldn’t see the wrong in anybody.”
Everyone described him as a funny, cheeky boy who always wanted a laugh and who was there for his friends.
One of Reece’s friends Katie Trevett, 21, said: “I came to celebrate Reece’s birthday for him because he can’t celebrate with us.
“He was the most down to earth person anybody could have met.
“He was like a little brother to me and never had anything bad to say about anyone.”
Friends and family set off balloons into the air on Walker Avenue as they said happy birthday to him.
They also set off some fireworks as people hugged each other and remembered Reece.
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