VANDALS heavily damaged the arm and face of a statue dedicated to a dead teenage girl in Enfield in an act of "purposeful, non-caring destruction"..

Giulietta Galli-Atkinson found her daughter Livia’s statue had been smashed at The Livia Memorial Garden, Windmill Hill, Enfield, on August 3.

Enfield Independent:

Livia, 16, died on her way to ballet on January 12, 1998, after a driver mounted the pavement and drove nearly forty metres without braking before hitting her.

Her mum was left dismayed after coming back from holiday to find the statute had been broken.

She said: “Naturally, my family and I feel gutted at being reminded of the kind of nastiness than can so easily crush.”

She could not find a reason why someone would target the memorial, saying: “It was working wonderfully, I have no idea why someone took a hammer and smashed it. Why would people wish to do this? People who do this to statues are drivers who do it to people.

“It’s just nasty for someone to wilfully hack away at something because their lives aren’t going right.”

She believes the statue was targeted ‘in hatred’: “People have done it in hatred. I have no idea who would target it but I have no evidence. It has been reported to the police.

"The spirit of the garden is one of tranquillity and it’s how we want to remember Livia.”

She and her husband George have now been forced to close the garden to prevent it from happening again.

She stressed that the family has ‘tried their best to keep it open’, and have ‘looked after it and nurtured it’.

The family are responsible for physically and financially maintaining the garden.

The statue had previously been damaged ten days after the garden opened on October 30, 1999, but was repaired following cash donations.

The driver who caused Livia's death was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after pleading not guilty to the charge.

He received a £2,000 fine, £1,825 in costs, ten penalty points and a five year driving ban.

Mrs Galli-Atkinson and her family campaigned against the lenient sentencing and eventually triumphed in a civil case against the defendant in 2003.

They successfully managed to widen the parameters of the trauma and proximity definition in personal injury claims.

To find out more about Livia’s story and donate, visit www.clamourandcampaign.com.