A walk to remember Melksham teenager’s last steps – one year on

FAMILY and friends of Ben Smith, the Melksham teenager who died a year ago after an assault while on a night out in Bath, say they are still looking for answers to what happened on that night.

No one has been charged following the assault, as the Crown Prosecution Service has said there is not enough evidence to bring charges.

To mark the one-year anniversary, Ben’s family and friends have held an early morning walk in his memory.

Over 30 friends turned out to support Ben’s mother, father and brother for the walk at 2.30am on November 1st, one year on from his tragic death.

Ben’s mum, Rachel said, “Ben was a fun-loving kind-hearted lad looking out for others and whose life was just beginning when he went to Bath for a fun Halloween evening with friends, when it all went horribly wrong.

“We just wanted to walk in his memory; to walk in his final steps in Bath city centre.

“Our son was not a fighter; he was never in any trouble. No one had a bad word about him and he was always smiling, always so happy.

“Young people need to think about what they are doing. We want to make people aware of the devastation punching someone in the head can cause. Keep your fists down; just one punch can have horrific consequences.”

Friends of Ben have set up a fundraiser to help the family with legal representation at the coroner’s court which will be considering the causes and circumstances around Ben’s death.

“The CPS have said there is not enough evidence to charge the person with the assault, but we’re hoping the coroners will see something different,” said Rachael.

“It’s a year gone and we are still looking for some answers about what happened that awful night.

“We haven’t been given a date for the hearing yet, but it probably won’t be until next year now.

“His friends set up a fundraising appeal because we have to pay for legal representation at the coroners’ court and we’d like to say thank you to the Melksham community for their continued help and for their support over the past year.”