Dad Confronts Men Who 'Stole' Flowers And Teddies From Manchester Attack Memorial

A furious dad confronted two men as they 'stole' a teddy and flowers from a Manchester attack memorial.

The shocking moment was caught on camera.

Credit: Caters

Mark McNally, 43, had been at the pub and was heading home when he claims he saw two men take some flowers and a Smurf teddy from a memorial.

When he went over to find out what was going on, the men said that they 'didn't know' what the memorial was for and thought the items were 'nice' so took them.

Mark, an engraver, told the Mail: "Memorials are a mark of respect and that's widely understood.

"I wasn't sure what they were doing but they were acting a bit strange so that's when I started to film them.

"I saw one of the guys with flowers in his hands and originally I thought he was going to put them on the memorial but then I saw them walking away with them.

"I was raging inside but luckily I kept it together well. I was so angry with it all."

In the video, he confronts the pair, and forces them to put the items back.

They try to calm him down by saying they simply 'liked' the flowers, but Mark was having none of it.

He added: "There was a younger fella who chased them and managed to take the flowers off him.

"It just goes without saying that even a child would know what it was there for. News about this tragedy has spread all over the world and everyone knows about it, so I don't believe they didn't know what they were doing.

"I know they were foreign nationals, but it's very clear that it's a memorial even though there was a language barrier. There is no instance when it would be okay to steal flowers from something like this. The attack is shocking. I have children myself and I can relate it to them and can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child in such a tragedy.

"Even though they struggled to speak good English, I think they could understand what I was saying. We didn't have a proper conversation but they said they liked the flowers and I presume they were taking them home or something. It's something that even young children would know not to do. It isn't like they were vandals smashing up the flowers - they were stealing them."

Shocking behaviour.

Topics: Manchester attack

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

@melramsay_