Christina Edkins garden tribute unveiled by rugby star Phil Vickery
A £10,000 memorial garden has been unveiled in memory of schoolgirl Christina Edkins who was killed on a bus in an horrific attack.
The garden was opened yesterday at St Edmund's Catholic Primary School, Springhill, Birmingham, which she attended from the age of three.
Earlier this week, paranoid schizophrenic Phillip Simelane, from Walsall, was detained indefinitely for killing Christina, aged 16, as she travelled to Leasowes High School in Halesowen on the bus.
Family and friends yesterday however attended her first school yesterday for the opening of a new eco zone for pupils to grow vegetables and memorial garden in her honour.
Wooden Spoon, the children's charity for rugby, put £8,000 towards the new facilities while the other £2,000 was raised by the school. The charity's ambassador, former England rugby union international Phil Vickery officially opened the garden.
Christina's great uncle Chris Melia said the family was glad to see a lasting tribute.
He said: "The family are delighted to see this come into being. They heard about it some months ago and were pleased at the time."
St Edmund's headteacher of seven years, Mary O'Friel, added: "It was a pleasure to be her headteacher. This garden will remind our pupils of a wonderful role model they should aspire to emulate."
Bishop Philip Pargeter, of The Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, blessed the garden.
