MINDLESS vandals have defaced the memorial of a teenage boy who tragically took his own life.

Vinny Cantlow’s 14-year-old son Kayden died after he was struck by a train close to his home in Colchester last July.

The teenager, who went to the Gilberd School in Colchester, died just days away from the first anniversary of his mother Michelle’s death from cancer.

Following his death, two memorials were set up to remember Kayden.

One is a wall with messages written on it from wellwishers and the other is a place to lay flowers at the bottom of the bridge.

However, the wall was vandalised during the weekend.

Vinny, of Wilson Marriage Road, Colchester, said his daughter Sapphire, 15, found the foul language scratched onto the wall when she went to pay her respects.

“It’s mindless vandalism,” he said.

“Whoever did this has no compassion and as far as I am concerned they are the scum of the earth.”

Vinny said the memorial can be fixed with a fresh coat of paint over the graffiti, but wants to remind the vandals the memorial is for his family as well as the whole community to pay their respects.

He said: “The memorial is for everyone and we have created a tranquil area for people to pay their respects.

“This incident has upset us.

“It’s there to remember Kayden and raise awareness about mental health.”

After Kayden’s death, his brother Francis, 17, launched a campaign calling for improvements to St Dominic’s bridge which collected thousands of signatures.

Earlier this month highways bosses confirmed safety measures will be installed at a bridge.

Essex Highways has said a full structural assessment is due to be completed by the end of this month.

Vinny said two Samaritans signs have now been installed by the bridge which provide contact numbers for people who may need support.

“These signs are exactly what we wanted,” Vinny said.

“There are also message boards for Kayden which can be seen, and the tranquil area is for people to sit down and think.

“I’ve sat there for hours before with my thoughts.”

The Samaritans can be called any time on 116 123.