THE brother of Lloyd Fouracre who was brutally murdered almost two years ago has stepped up his campaign to make Taunton a safer place.
Adam Fouracre, 21, set up Campaign for Lloyd, backed by the County Gazette, after his 17-year-old brother was killed on September 25, 2005, in Gipsy Lane while walking home from a party at Taunton Vale Sports & Social Club.
Supported by Taunton MP Jeremy Browne, Adam campaigned to get more police on the streets at peak times, and managed to get 26,000 signatures to hand over to Government.
Adam, a community health assistant in Taunton, is now looking to take the message into communities and has been going into schools in the area to talk about people's actions and consequences.
"The message I'm putting across is that violence is not the answer - it doesn't solve things and only makes things worse," he said.
"Society cannot change just through the efforts of one individual, no matter how much I want it to, it needs everyone to make a difference.
"What happened to my brother was awful and it shouldn't have happened but the sad truth is that this sort of thing does happen and it's becoming more common."
Adam does not believe violence is down to drink alone, but a change in society.
"What did we used to do for entertainment? I still got up to mischief but I did not hurt people, whereas now they look to scare people and break stuff just for entertainment."
So far Adam has spoken to Year Ten pupils at Heathfield Community School, The Castle School and Queen's College about considering how their actions can affect others.
Following these talks Adam has received appreciative comments back.
Peter Thompson, head of Caernarvon House at The Castle School said: "Adam spoke with genuine commitment, enthusiasm and courage. He instantly gained the respect of the students who listened intensely to his words.
"You could have, quite literally, heard a pin drop."
Adam is keen to speak to schools, youth groups, and organisations of any age to spread his message.
To mark the second anniversary of Lloyd's death next month Adam will be giving a private talk at Musgrove Park Hospital.
He said: "I want to make people aware that I will go and do talks if people want me to."
To contact Adam email adam@againstviolence.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article