Painted stones taken from marathon runner Ben Ashworth’s memorial

Ben Ashworth's memorial. Pic: Louise Harlow — Ben Ashworth’s memorial. Pic: Louise Harlow

Painted stones that were placed at Ben Ashworth’s memorial have been moved since.

Ben’s widow Louise posted on Facebook asking for the public’s help if they knew who had taken the stones.

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Ben died in July 2017 after a five year battle with bowel cancer.

During this Ben ran dozens of marathons and half marathons in order to raise money for cancer charities.

Ben Ashworth with his Berlin Marathon medal

Ben’s memorial is situated at the entrance to Miller Park, and his favourite running route which is a 2.5km stretch of the Wheel, a 21-mile cycling, walking and running route around the city called the Ben Ashworth Way section.

Louise said: “With lockdown we were unable to do our usual cheeky Santa dash in Avenham park and so asked people to run or walk the section of the guild wheel dedicated to Ben and leave a stone at his dedication rock instead.

“It’s been suggested people might have thought they were part of something else and they have been re-hidden. I think it’s a shame for those who wanted to join in and show their respect and share in Ben’s memory.

“We all have our private ways of remembering him, but this was a way for the community to come together in solidarity, some people made beautiful ones.”

Isobel and Heidi Ashworth, Ben and Louise's children at Ben's memorial — Isobel and Heidi Ashworth, Ben and Louise’s children at Ben’s memorial

Louise is unsure whether someone has taken the stones or moved them to different areas across Preston.

She added: “Personally, I don’t mind the idea that there might be bits of Ben’s memory shared across the city (if they have been just moved) or that children have enjoyed them but it would be really lovely to know where they are, and for people to understand why they were placed there to start with.”

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