THE family of a murder victim have been left heartbroken after flowers and pictures were removed from his grave - and were told they are not allowed to leave personal mementos.

Fabian Kacica died after a fatal stabbing outside the Forum Library in Southend on May 14 2018, aged 19.

Since his death, Fabian’s family have visited his graveside at Sutton Road cemetery every day, where they would place photos, cards, flowers and lamps .

But in a notice from Southend Council, families have been asked to remove artificial flowers, plaques, figurines, toys and photos from the lawn graves.

Fabian’s sister, Laura, 28, said that the family were left devastated after finding the base of Fabian’s grave in the bin when they visited the cemetery on Tuesday.

Laura said: “They sent us a letter in December last year that we have to remove everything from the graveyard and we can only keep the headstone.

“They said we had four weeks to remove everything.

“It was Christmas and New Year, I wasn’t removing anything.

“He had that for three years and nothing has happened before now.

“We’re now not allowed to put out any pictures or cards.

“Only real flowers.

“My dad found the base of the grave next to the bin with all the lamps that we had.”

She added: “To not even be told they were ripping this apart has hurt us even more.

“We are still grieving from his death nearly three years on and to go to find this has absolutely destroyed us as a family.

“My dad goes every morning.

“I don’t know how it’s going to be now that we can’t have anything at his grave.”

Steve Moore, director of neighbourhoods and environment, said: “We fully understand and appreciate the sensitivity of the issue of placing personal items at the graves of lost loves ones, and in this case the placing of items on lawn graves.

“Last year, the council contacted the next of kin to remind them of the need to place personal items in the prescribed way so we could ensure we could continue to maintain the areas from both an environmental and safety perspective which was becoming increasingly difficult.

“If anyone has any concerns or questions about what can and can’t be left on a lawn grave, please do contact the bereavement team who will offer support and guidance.”