Rhys Jones walk
Crime-free, that is, apart from the car park where Rhys met his death and the area immediately surrounding it where the Park’s only public facilities are centralised. The shops there had been subjected to a number of robberies before the tragedy and the Fir Tree pub adjacent has been closed since police targeted it as an alleged den for drug dealers. Charges of possessing cannabis against former landlord Keith Doyle were dropped only last week .
One woman, who did not wish to be named, has lived for the past decade in a detached house on a quiet cul de sac around the corner from where Rhys lived.
She and other residents felt safe there until the shooting last year. The 42-year-old mum-of-one said the Fir Tree car park had become a particular ‘no go’ area for her.
“People have become afraid to do the ordinary things around there, like walking their dogs. It’s got worse since the pub was closed and boarded up. It should be reopened with someone proper running it and given back to the community,” she said.
Others have been working to unite young people from Croxteth and Norris Green in the 16 months since the tragedy.
Last month saw the final of 11 church services held across the two districts and known as “Community Sunday” when schoolchildren joined together in song to spread an anti-gun message.
They sang You’re The Voice by John Farnham as part of a campaign organised by local singer Liam Moore, minister at the Pentecostal Church in Kensington. Liam has visited 12 schools in the districts. He plans to record and release the song in February using 25 children from each school to form a mass choir.
“What I want to do is to show people that there is unity in this area and by using this song they’re saying enough is enough,” he said.
“Already, all the schools are playing the song in their assemblies and over 6,500 kids are learning it.
“Powerful or what? It will be released with a “no guns, no knives, no loss of lives” message with a massive campaign to go with it. These kids will be the catalyst and the breakthrough, not only in Norris Green and Croxteth but way beyond.”
