Nicola Henry and, inset, her son Adam who was fatally stabbed last December; below: the temporary memorial that has been at the place he died since then

THE mother of a teenager who was fatally stabbed ­has spoken of her anguish, after the council informed her they will remove his memorial just as his murder trial commences.

Flowers and tributes were laid at the scene of the stabbing in Westbourne Road for Adam Henry, who was killed in broad daylight last December, aged 15.

The temporary memorial has been there for nine months, but Adam’s mother, Nicola Henry, told the Tribune that she has received “urgent” correspondence from the council this week informing her it will be removed on September 29. The council have suggested installing a permanent memorial bench elsewhere.

Ms Henry said it has come at the “worst possible time”, as his murder trial is due to commence at the Old Bailey the same week.

“It feels like they just want to remove him from memory, remove him from sight. Like he was nobody. And that’s so painful,” she said. “I’m absolutely devastated that I have to fight to stop the removal of my child’s visible remembrance just a week before the trial.

“My question to the council is, what has changed that suddenly makes the removal so urgent after nine months, and why can’t they wait until after the trial?”

Ms Henry added that she felt the council had given her no clear reason as to why the memorial should be removed, and is pleading with them for more time before discussing longer-term plans.

“It’s still very raw, very fresh, and I just feel they need to have some compassion for me with this. I’m just asking for some humanity. A little more time so we can figure out a long-term plan, because this quiet shrine means so much to me and my family,” she said.

“I am not refusing to discuss an appropriate permanent memorial for Adam. I am simply asking for reasonable time.”

She has enlisted the support of Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn and Caledonian councillor Paul Convery, who are both trying to help her postpone the removal.

She said that she felt there was “hypocrisy” in the council’s approach to the memorial, adding: “There are memorials that have been allowed to exist for much longer than mine, and those families have been allowed that time that I’m asking for.”

Ms Henry added she had been upset by the council’s first communications with her to suggest an alternative memorial for Adam just 38 days after his death, before he had even been buried: “Where is the sensitivity?”

After Adam’s death in December, Ms Henry successfully campaigned to have CCTV installed in the Westbourne estate to prevent any other family going through “the nightmare” she has experienced since he died.

Heather Staff, the Town Hall’s community safety chief, said: “Our thoughts remain with Adam Henry’s family, friends, and everyone affected by his tragic death.

“We have been working closely with Adam’s family and remain committed to supporting them through what is an unthinkably difficult time.

“We have spoken with Adam’s family about the possibility of a permanent memorial that would provide a lasting place for loved ones to remember Adam. That offer remains open, and we remain ready to discuss it whenever the time is right for the family.

“Our long-standing approach is that memorials placed on public land are in time returned to their everyday communal use, and this approach is applied consistently.

“In reaching this decision, we have also had to consider wider issues affecting the area, including incidents of vandalism, reports of crime and anti-social behaviour, and concerns raised by residents.

“We recognise that this will be deeply upsetting for Adam’s family.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision and, as Adam’s family and our residents would rightly expect, it has only been made after extremely careful consideration.”