James Bulger family 'touched' as appeal tops £23k

The family of murdered toddler James Bulger have said they are "touched" after a fundraiser, which was set up after his grave was vandalised, raised more than £23,000.

James was two years old when he was abducted from a Bootle shopping centre, tortured and killed by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson - then both aged 10 - in 1993.

In February, Denise Fergus shared her "heartbreak" on Facebook after two cherub statues next to James's grave in Kirkdale Cemetery were smashed.

The family said the online fundraiser and the amount of messages and cards sent to Fergus showed how "many people still hold James in their hearts".

Stuart Fergus, who is married to Denise and is charity manager of the James Bulger Memorial Trust said that after news of the vandalism "a lot of people came forward who wanted the help".

"We are just blown away with the lovely messages and the donations. We are just gobsmacked by how much was raised," he said.

"It really just shows how much the people in Liverpool and the area love and respect Denise and James.

"The amount of emails that we've had, social media messages, even people have been sending cards into the office, that is what truly has touched Denise because she still knows many people hold James in their hearts."

He said the money would be used to replace the smashed cherubs at the headstone and any remaining funds would be donated to the memorial trust to help other bereaved families.

Merseyside Police described the attack as "abhorrent and truly shocking."

No-one has been arrested in connection with the vandalism.

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