Heartbreaking photo of toddler pouring earth on father’s grave shared in bid to stop knife crime
A heartbreaking photo of a toddler pouring earth on his father’s grave has been posted online in an effort to tackle knife crime.
The image shows 17-month-old Carter Bagshaw holding a spade and shovelling soil on to the grave of his father, Lewis Bagshaw, during his funeral on September 18.
Mr Bagshaw, 21, was stabbed to death in Southey, Sheffield, in July.
His friend, Jordan Kissack, posted the image on Facebook in the hope that it would deter anyone who was thinking about picking up a knife.
Mr Kissack said Carter called out “Daddy” while video clips and pictures of his father were displayed at the funeral.
Jervaise Bennett, of Bishopholme Close, Shirecliffe, and a 16-year-old boy have been charged with Mr Bagshaw’s murder.
On Facebook, Mr Kissack wrote: “Just a little advice for people that carry/use knives and guns. STOP!
“Today we laid to rest yet another one of my friends today who should still be here but some coward took his life with a knife.
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“Whilst at the funeral reception we played video clips of memories & pictures of my dear childhood friend Lewis Bagshaw whilst these were playing his son Carter started shouting ‘DADDY’ at the pictures.
“Let that feeling sink in if it you was taken from your loving girlfriend and son and friends and family imagine the pain they are all going through because somebody took your life that shouldn’t have been taken.
“A moment in anger causes a lifetime of pain for others.
“RIP my dear friend. Your legacy will live on for Carter to remember every detail about you.”
Carter’s mother, Olivia Keeley, told the BBC she hopes the image "stops just one person from picking up a knife or a gun”.
She said: "Life is just completely the total opposite to how it was, it's really empty and lonely, and there is a lot of sadness as well."
Mr Kissack said later: “Seeing Lewis’s son at his funeral was the final straw for me and made me speak out.
“Too many people are dying, too many lives are being destroyed and too many families are being ripped apart.
“I’ve been stabbed, I’ve experienced knife crime, I’ve seen guns being pulled. I know what it is like to be constantly looking over your shoulder.
“But there are other ways. There is another way of life and I want to do all I can to persuade the younger generation to put their knives down.
“To see a little boy burying his dad is surely enough to make people stop and think about what they are doing?”
Ms Keeley said: "From the moment Carter was born, Lewis was completely besotted and devoted to him. He was a devoted family man.
"He had just passed his driving theory the month before he died and his test was booked. He was making his life better for us and our son."
