A local woman is preparing to undertake a gruelling swim in memory of murdered Liverpool toddler James Bulger.

Lesley Lloyd, who will raise money for the James Bulger Memorial Trust, said: “I’m a bit nervous as I’ve never done this before, but I’m doing this for James and that will keep me going.”

The memory of James’ death haunted Mrs Lloyd to the point where she had nightmares about it and she vowed to do something positive in memory of him.

“I didn’t have children when James was murdered but I remember his photo on the news that night, his cheeky little face, hoping and praying he would be found safe and sound. When he was found a couple of days later it was so sad,” she said.

“As events unfolded running up to finding the two boys that abducted him and what they did, it was too horrific to believe. I do believe justice was never done for James and that’s why closure will never be found.”

Two ten-year-old boys took James from

a shopping centre in Bootle in 1993 before

killing him and dumping his body on a railway

line in a crime which shocked the nation.

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became

the youngest convicted murderers in British legal

history in November 1993, and were sentenced

to be detained until adulthood.

They were eventually released in 2001 with strict

licence conditions, although Jon Venables was

returned to custody in 2010 and sentenced to two

years’ imprisonment for downloading and

distributing indecent images of children.

After returning to swimming to lose weight following

pregnancy, Lloyd heard about the trust, which aims to

provide a holiday home for deserving children, including

victims of crime and bullying, and their families in the

north of England.

The mum-of-four, who aims to swim 300 lengths, is currently training three nights per week in preparation and plans on taking a 30-second break every 40 lengths to make it manageable. She will embark on the swim on 19th February at Connah’s Quay Baths, who have kindly donated the pool for free.

Jeremy Slack, a trustee of the James Bulger Memorial Trust, said: "We as a trust are so grateful for the fundraising being done in James’ name, which in turn will allow children to take advantage of the holiday home sited at Ribby Hall.

“The Trust, set up in James’ name by Denise [James’ mother] barely 12 months ago, has come far further than we dared hope in such a small space of time, and it is down to Lesley and people like her, that this has happened so quickly".

Lloyd hopes to raise over £1,000 for the trust and those willing to donate can visit her fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/lesleylloyd

Swimmer keeps memory of Bulger alive

By Liam Deveney, Website Editor

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