A family’s mourning has been exacerbated after flowers laid in remembrance were stolen.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Jack Southey was killed by a car last year. Photo: The Southey FamilyJack Southey was killed by a car last year. Photo: The Southey Family (Image: Archant)

Jack Southey was on his way to the shops to buy a Mother’s Day card with his dad on March 24 last year when he was involved in a road accident and died, aged 22.

The day after his funeral, flowers laid at the scene of the crash on Burgh Road, Gorleston were taken by two people and their licence plate was recorded by Jack’s cousin. The people were traced and claimed they thought the flowers had been left out by the shops, before writing an apology to the Southey family.

A year on, and history has repeated itself.

Flowers were laid by the road on Saturday morning before a group of 18 family and friends took on the East Anglian Air Ambulance’s Only the Brave mud race in Thetford Forest in memory of Jack.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Jack Southey, centre, with his family in Florida. Picture: The Southey familyJack Southey, centre, with his family in Florida. Picture: The Southey family (Image: Archant)

After getting back from the event and cleaning themselves up, Jack’s mother, Janette, went to visit the flowers, only to find at least three bunches had gone.

She said: “My mother-in-law laid some distinctive red roses, so I knew they had gone. Then my neighbours and my friend realised that their’s had gone too.

“A lot of the flowers had notes on them, ‘Always remembered’ and stuff like that, so it was obvious why the flowers were there.

“You just think, why? For it to happen the day after his funeral and then again on his anniversary it just beggars belief really.”

Mrs Southey said she hoped those responsible felt ashamed and she hopes in the future she will be able to remember her son with peace of mind.

She said: “Obviously we’re going to put flowers out there every year to mark his anniversary and I would just like to be able to remember my son without anyone stealing them. It’s not too much to ask.

“I know I can’t bring him back or anything but I would like to keep his memory alive and I would like to symbolise that by putting flowers down and knowing that they will stay there.”