A shrine in memory of High Wycombe murder victim Lee Gillespie has been removed from the scene of the horrific killing.

Wycombe District Council workers took the Church Street tributes away this morning and later apologised to Lee’s family for any upset caused after the 26-year-old’s father, Jimmy Gillespie, told the Bucks Free Press he was upset the flowers and messages had disappeared.

Lee was brutally killed on August 22 last year after being stabbed 14 times by Martin Stanislaus in a town centre attack ordered by Lee’s ex-girlfriend, Beaconsfield woman Jodie Willis.

A shrine has remained at the scene of the murder ever since, with family and friends regularly visiting the site to pay their respects - including Jimmy who visits the scene every day.

Council workers removed the shrine earlier today following a series of meetings with relatives, where a spokesman said a date had been agreed in writing between the two parties.

It is also understood they discussed the idea of looking to replace the shrine with a plaque or bench in Lee’s honour.

However, Jimmy said he was shocked to find the tributes had been taken away.

He said: “I was walking down the street to my son’s memorial on the high street and there’s nothing there.

“There’s nothing – not even a petal. There must have been 30 plus bunches there.

“It was only a week ago we commemorated his anniversary. It’s like robbing from someone’s grave. They’re the only things I have to remember him.”

Bucks Free Press:

A WDC spokesman said: “We know that this is a really difficult time for Lee’s family and friends and we're really sorry that moving the flowers and gifts left in his memory has caused further upset.

“We've been speaking with Mr Gillespie about moving the flowers and gifts and when we met him in July, we agreed together that we would wait until the anniversary passed before we moved anything.

“We confirmed in writing the date that we'd agreed and spoke to Mr Gillespie last week to remind him that we would be starting to clear the tributes this Monday (September 5).

“We’ve taken great care to approach this as sensitively as possible. We have stored all the items that we've removed and we've invited Mr Gillespie, or another family member, to keep them if they want to.

“We are more than happy to work with Mr Gillespie to look at options such as a memorial bench or tree if the family feel they would like to have a permanent memorial put in place for Lee.”

Mt Gillespie's father said that despite the initial meetings, the council should have contacted nearer the time of the shrine being removed.

At a trial earlier this year, Lee’s scorned ex-girlfriend Willis was handed a life sentence and told to serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars, while Stanislaus was ordered to spend at least 26 years in prison as part of his life sentence.

A third man, Leigh Burns, was cleared of murder but given a 10-year sentence for manslaughter after leading Mr Gillespie’s killers to the murder scene.