A grieving friend in Cornwall has been left devastated after being told a memorial he lovingly created for his war veteran lifelong best mate is going to be removed. The touching slate carving for Steven Edgeler has been situated on the coastal cliff path in Portloe for two years but is now due to be removed by Veryan Parish Council.

The memorial, which has his nickname ‘Hedgehog’ inscribed on it, was handcrafted and put on the cliff path by his friend David Rundle, who said the location had been Steven’s favourite place. The pair had met in secondary school and remained best friends until Steven passed away at the age of 53 in March 2022.

David had hoped it would be a fitting tribute to Steven, who had grown up in Portloe and served in the military as a dog handler for 21 years. His service saw active duty in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and he reached the rank of sergeant.

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However, David said he was recently told that the memorial was going to be removed because the parish council did not want to "set a precedent" so others do not put memorials on the land. Despite having appealed for the memorial to remain in place, he was unsuccessful and has now been left feeling very upset by the decision.

“Everyone I speak to says it’s a load of nonsense because Steven is a war hero,” David told CornwallLive. “The parish council wants to set a precedent but the cliff path was Steven’s favourite place and his and his parents’ ashes are scattered there, which is why we chose to put the memorial there.

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“I was dismissed at the parish meeting when I went to try to appeal it. I thought the parish council was there to help people but they don’t seem to care.

“It’s quite upsetting really. I can’t understand it. A lot of time went into making it and it’s been there for over two years already.”

David said he has had a lot of support from Steven’s family, as well as locals in the village, to help fight to keep the memorial in place. He said he even set up a petition which has reached over 150 signatures already in the very small village. “I’m surprised at how much support there has been for the headstone to stay in place,” he said.

A spokesperson for Veryan Parish Council has refused to comment on the decision to remove the memorial.

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