James Bulger's 18th birthday marked

12 April 2012

Eighteen red balloons have been released to mark what would have been the 18th birthday of murdered toddler James Bulger.

A birthday cake was also placed on James's grave by his mother Denise Fergus during a private ceremony at Kirkdale Cemetery in Liverpool, which was also attended by friends and family of the child.

James was murdered by 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson on February 13, 1993 in a crime that stunned the world. The two-year-old was abducted from a shopping centre and tortured and killed on a railway line.

Speaking about James's birthday, Mrs Fergus said last week: "It's going to be hard but I'm still going to give him the birthday he so much deserves. My family and very close friends are going to the cemetery and I do want the kids to set off 18 red balloons because I think it's so important for James to celebrate his 18th birthday wherever he is. But I just want the day to come and go as quickly as possible so I'm going to put the cake down on his grave for him."

She said she would be involving her three children Michael, 14, Thomas, nine, and Leon, eight, in the event.

Mrs Fergus, who lives in Kirkby, Liverpool, said: "They do understand what's going on. They don't understand the full details of what happened to him but they have had to grow up with James's murder."

The 38-year-old also said James's killers had taken her "whole world" away from her.

They were released from custody on life licences in 2001, having served eight years in a youth offenders' institute, and given secret identities.

She said: "I don't think they should have been able to celebrate their 18th birthdays and should not be allowed to be walking around freely. They did do a most horrendous crime. They took away my whole world from me. A part of their lives should have been taken from them. I am really annoyed that they have gone on to create new lives for themselves with new identities and they are protected."

On Friday Mrs Fergus helped to launch the James Bulger House Appeal which aims to raise £1m to fund the Red Balloon Learner Centre, which provides an educational refuge for bullied children. It is the first memorial to the murdered youngster.

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