BABY Thomas Kirk never got to see his first birthday, but that doesn’t mean his family will ever forget his special day.
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His family visit his grave site every year on August 15, leaving tokens of love to let him know that while he is gone he will never be forgotten.
On Friday, Thomas’ mum Leanne Kirk and her two sons Adam and Noah went to his grave site and left small birthday presents: a toy car and two whirly birds.
By the next morning, the two whirly birds were stolen.
Mrs Kirk is devastated, and can’t understand why people can’t leave her son’s – and other people’s – graves alone.
“This is not the first time it’s happened, it’s the third, and it’s just not us it’s happened to,”she said.
“We [her mother, and her sons Adam and Noah] went up the cemetery on Friday as we do every year.
“We went up with cupcakes to sit up in the rotunda and have afternoon tea.
“We put two whirly birds on his grave, one from each of the boys, and gave him his car, which we put near the headstone.
“But when we went back on Saturday – my husband wasn’t able to come Friday because of work commitments – the two whirly birds were gone.
“I was gutted, disgusted. This has happened before and I just feel really sad.
“And we know it’s not the wind, because there are other whirly birds nearby which are still there.
“I just feel sad that people think they have the right to do this.
“We want to leave something special for our baby, but because one person has no respect, we can’t do it.
“Really, these people are scum of the earth.
“They [the whirly birds] weren’t expensive, just $1.50 each, but what is devastating is the lack of respect.”
Mrs Kirk said council workers do an outstanding job keeping the area tidy.
“It’s a beautiful area, it’s just sad that some people can’t seem to respect it.”
She hopes people will realise taking things from a grave is wrong.
“It’s 10 years since Thomas died, but it’s the third time it’s happened to us,” she said.
“On Thomas’ fifth birthday, my sister put some balloons and candles on his grave.
“I went up a couple of hours later and they were gone. I never even got to see them.”