A MOTHER whose son died in a road accident 17 years ago is appealing for help in finding his military medal before she leaves Darwen.

David Shorrock was 15 when he was killed riding pillion on a motorbike in July 1991.

As a member of an Army Cadets regiment in Black-burn, he was given a military funeral and a posthumous medal for his achievements.

David was buried in his uniform at Darwen Cemetery after service at St Joseph's RC Church and his coffin was carried into the church by the members of his regiment.

Now his mother, Sue, 54, of Tudor Close, Darwen, says she is desperate to get the medal back before she moves to Plymouth.

She said the medal had never been returned by a man who promised to make a headstone for David.

Mrs Shorrock said: "Two days after the burial I had gone up to the grave to sort the flowers out.

"Suddenly a chap there said he could make David a suitable headstone.

"He said that he could implant the medal into the stone and put a picture on it.

"I thought that sounded nice, so I gave him the medal and a picture of him on canvas. But I never got the money back, the medal or the picture.

"We were vulnerable people at that time and were taken advantage of. This must never happen to anyone again."

Mrs Shorrock described the medal as round, made out of metal, and in a box with David's name on it.

She said: "As a family we need closure.

"I don't care about the money we paid to him, all I want back is his medal before I go down south.

"If we can get the medal back we will have a big family reunion which will be special because some of us haven't spoken for years.

"David's father will be presented with the medal, as it should be - his father is proud and it must be recognised that fathers grieve too."

Mrs Shorrock described her son, a pupil at Holy Trinity Primary School and Moor-land High School, as "a very special person - grade A."

She said: "He used to get up and bake in the morning. The week before he was killed he'd been preparing all the food for his cousin's 18th birthday party.

"He died on a Sunday. On the Monday he was due to go away on a course with the cadets and he'd been up all night cleaning his boots."

Mrs Shorrock has involved solicitors to find the medal, but they have not been able to find it despite recruiting bailiffs.

The photograph has only recently been returned to her by a family friend who saw it in a disused outbuilding.