Town supports grieving family after BBQ damages bench

A town has come together to fix a memorial bench that was badly damaged after a portable barbecue was used on top of it.

Richard Di Leonardo from Frome discovered the damage to his mother Lesley's memorial bench at Rodden Meadow in the centre of the town on Monday.

After Mr Di Leonardo posted about it on Facebook, local carpenter Richard Chisnall offered to fix the bench, free of charge.

"At the start of the day, we were very upset, but after all the people came forward with stories of my mum and to help, it was pretty heartwarming," Mr Di Leonardo said.

"We had literally just put flowers on it for our first mothers day without her," Mr Di Leonardo explained.

His mother died nine months ago from cancer. He said his family paid £1,000 to set the bench up according to his mother's wish.

"The type of person my mother was, she was quite selfless and didn't ask for anything," Mr Di Leonardo said.

"The only thing she wanted was a bench at Rodden Meadow, where she would always walk my sister's dog, it's somewhere for us all to go."

A local carpenter, Richard Chisnall, came forward and offered to fix the bench for free.

"I met Richard's dad on the meadow when he was installing the bench and he told me about his wife," Mr Chisnall said.

"I used it many times, when I'm out with the dogs. I saw the damage and I didn't want them to have to look at it.

"Frome has given me so much, I've got a good life and this is just my way of giving back."

Mr Di Leonardo said it was "amazing" to see Mr Chisnall helping out.

"Today, we're a bit calmer about it, it's a positive outcome, to see how many people came forward," he added.

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