SCHOOL pals of a teenager who died when a damaged goalpost fell on him have marked the first anniversary of his death by putting up a memorial plaque.

Wayne Turner, 13, of Brodick Road, Blackburn, died after the post he had been swinging on at Shadsworth Leisure Centre fell over and hit his head last October.

The tragedy resulted in Blackburn Council being fined £12,000 for not fixing the post despite warnings that it was unsafe.

Wayne's mother Barbara Wrigley joined his friends and teachers at a ceremony to unveil a plaque in a courtyard which is being refurbished at his former school, Northcliffe special school, Blackburn Old Road, Great Harwood.

Youngsters also planted memorial bushes and flowers.

Mrs Wrigley, who has instructed solicitors to sue Blackburn Council, said she was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her son. She added: "I still forget and wonder where he is.

"I think it is brilliant that his old friends have decided to remember him in this way. It is very touching.

"His friends still talk about him and the plaque is a nice way of remembering him in a quiet part of the school."

Mrs Wrigley, who has planted a rose bush in Wayne's memory in her own garden, added: "I want to sue the council to make the point that they always fix things when it is too late."

Wayne and a large group of friends had climbed through a fence to use the artificial grass pitch out of hours when the accident occurred.

Later a jury returned a verdict of accidental death at the Blackburn inquest into Wayne's death.

A safety inspector told the hearing that he had written to all relevant authorities in Lancashire after a number of serious accidents all over the country where posts had not been secured to the floor or sufficiently weighted.

The inquest also heard that a teacher at a local school had reported, over a month before Wayne's accident, that a bar which ran across the back of the goalpost frame was missing.

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