Vigil held in Wolverhampton in memory of teenager Brianna Ghey one week after park attack

Pride House on School Street in Wolverhampton was the setting for a dignified and sombre vigil on Saturday in memory of Brianna Ghey, a week after the 16-year-old transgender girl was stabbed to death in Linear Park in Warrington.

The death of Brianna had led to an outpouring of grief and shock from all over the country and had seen vigils take place, including in the park she was attacked.

It was in this spirit that Wolverhampton LGBT+ invited people from the city and across the wider community to join members at Pride House for its own vigil, with dozens of people attending.

Wolverhampton LGBT+ chair Kelly Walker-Reed made an emotional address, talking about the loss of a sister and the need to embrace love, not hate, and said the community needed to show solidarity and strength in the face of such hatred, before those in attendance observed two minutes of silence.

Ms Walker-Reed said the turnout had been really good and showed that people cared and really wanted to show their support fro not just the trans community, but also for the LGBT+ community.

She said: "We know that Brianna isn't the only person who has died in recent times, but it highlights because of her age the issue in hand and we know that people are still struggling and suffering, sometimes in silence, and that should not be the case.

"We need to come together as an LGBT community and make sure we are looking after each other, but we also need allies and we need people who are not LGBT to come along and support and say enough is enough and we won't tolerate bullying and hate.

"Today is just testament to Wolverhampton and the people that live within it are lovely people and there are so many here today who are not LGBT, which shows that what we need is to show that solidarity as a city and look after our own."

The vigil brought members from other LGBT+ groups to Pride House to add their support, with Emma Savage from X2Y Wolverhampton among those attending.

Emma, who is educational outreach coordinator for X2Y, said it meant the world to be there and to share the journey of other young trans people.

She said: "It shows them that as a community, we do come together and they have the support out there.

"Today has shown people who care about humanity and care about each other and it's not about gender or sex or identity, but is just about caring people and a show of solidarity.

"At X2Y, we offer a safe space for young people and we are there to support not only the journey they are going through, but also their families too."

Joanna Cheneler had travelled from Tamworth to be at the vigil. The 40-year-old, who is transitioning from male to female, said it was very important for her to be there and to tell the stories she had heard.

She said: "Things happen day to day, week to week, which people don't know about in the trans community, with stories of harassment at work, bullying and physical attacks, and the more people know about it and support people, the better.

"I really hope something good can come from this tragic event and if it is a wake up call, then brilliant, use it and get people to learn from it and educate them and stop it from becoming just another statistic."

A boy and girl, both aged 15, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have appeared at Liverpool Crown Court charged with the murder of Brianna Ghey. Both have been remanded in custody