Memorial to man killed in alleged assault stolen

Friends of a man who was killed in an alleged assault in Hull city centre have appealed for the return of a memorial to him.

Martin Chadburn, 53, who was an army veteran and employee of the Hull 4 Heroes charity, died in hospital following the incident in Queen Victoria Square in April.

A topper knitted as tribute to him has been taken from a postbox near where he lived in east Hull.

Friend Lisa Goodwillie, who knew Chadburn since childhood, described the theft as "absolutely heartbreaking".

"We got this done because we wanted people to know what Martin achieved in his life," she said.

"He was such an amazing man. He was so loved, so loved by everybody.

"We wanted this tribute to him, so everybody who walked by knew a bit of Martin's life."

The topper features his army career and charity work as well as his love of camping in a minivan and took three weeks to make.

It was last seen on the postbox on Southcoates Lane at about 14:30 BST on Sunday.

Goodwillie is appealing for whoever took it to return it.

"I'm hoping that it's somebody that doesn't understand the relevance of this," she said.

"We'd like it back, because when Martin eventually does get buried, we would like to put this on his gravestone."

Three women and two men appeared at Hull Crown Court in April charged with Chadburn's murder.

No pleas were entered during the hearing and the defendants were remanded in custody ahead of another court appearance on 7 August.

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