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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Charlotte Hadfield & Alahna Kindred

Mum whose son was killed in front of her on her birthday relives horror 'every day'

A heartbroken mum whose son was killed in front of her on her birthday says "every milestone" reminds her of him.

Bobby Colleran was six when he was hit by a van in West Derby in October 2014.

Joanne Colleran, 43, has said her family's grief has not got any easier eight years on.

The mum says last week she witnessed the aftermath of a crash while dropping other sons off at school and it brought the emotions back from when her son died.

Joanne told the LiverpoolECHO : "It's bizarre because we were just there as it had happened but your whole inside turns over.

"You think whoever it is, their parents, their family, I hope they're ok. You kind of go through all of your emotions again and then it just puts stuff in your mind.

These are the parents of Bobby, David and Joanne (Liverpool Echo)

"I used to love September/October, the run-up to autumn, it was one of my favourite times of year - and now the minute the chill comes in the air it's horrible. I just relive everything, every day - what we were doing when he was here."

Speaking ahead of the anniversary of Bobby's death, Joanne said: "It is a difficult day. What makes it harder is it's my birthday on the day he died.

Bobby's brothers Harry, Georgie and Frankie (Liverpool Echo)

"People say grief gets easier and it doesn't. It's like every milestone, everything that happens you're like where is he? He was the middle one of the kids."

Joanne set up the Bobby Colleran Trust shortly after Bobby's death to campaign for better road safety on roads across the city.

In March last year, the charity announced the launch of its ‘Take Care for Bobby’ campaign to support the mental health of children and young people in the Liverpool City Region.

Bobby's siblings at a remembrance service for the youngster (Liverpool Echo)

The impact on the mental health of Bobby’s siblings led Joanne to spearhead the improvement of accessible therapy for young people by providing counselling services in schools and children’s centres.

After hearing about the campaign, Joe Rogerson decided to take part in the Ironman Challenge in Italy on September 18, with all money raised going to the Bobby Colleran Trust.

The Ironman Challenge consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile cycle and a marathon 26.2-mile run, which Joe completed in 15 hours 12 minutes.

Joe said: "I've got three kids myself so I just thought that would be the right charity and they were over the moon."

The Bobby Colleran Trust is set to open its own centre next to Blackmoor Park Infant School in West Derby in the coming months, where it will run additional counselling sessions from.

To visit or donate to Joe's Just Giving page click here.

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