A GRIEVING mother has vowed to defy a county council ban which led to contractors ripping up a floral tribute to her son.

Former North-East woman Kathleen Lawson had carefully tended the memorial to Robert, 24, since he died in a motorbike accident on March 19 last year.

But the flowers, which included planted daffodils and hyacinths, were removed from the roadside where he died yesterday because they contravene council policy. It states they are only allowed to remain for a maximum of 21 days.

A defiant Ms Lawson said: "I'll never stop putting flowers there.

"They are set back from the grass verge and it is always neat and tidy. It is where I go to pray and where I can go to talk to him. It's such a special place."

Ms Lawson, 50, moved from Bishop Auckland to Ashton Keynes, in Wiltshire, 11 years ago, with Robert and his three brothers Vernon, Kevin and Joe.

Tragedy struck when the former pupil of King James I Community College, in Bishop Auckland, was knocked from his bike into a ditch in Ashton Keynes.

An inquest held in Swindon last week heard how his Yamaha motorbike was involved in an accident with a female driver.

It took emergency services 40 minutes to find him after a 999 call was made from his mobile phone as he lay injured in the ditch out of sight. An open verdict was recorded.

Jim Bailey, district highways surveyor at North Wiltshire County Council, said the floral policy had been agreed with the police and council.

"There is evidence that these floral tributes can be a road safety issue in that vehicles slow down to look at them. It was a very large display, about 6ft tall. It was virtually a monument," he said.

A memorial service was held at St Paulinus' Church, St Helen Auckland, after Robert's death and his ashes were scattered near the dam head at the River Wear in Bishop Auckland.

Robert, whose father Joe lives at Ferryhill Station, was hoping to join the army and was a plant worker for a stone firm.

Ms Lawson said her son was "a real gem", who would help anyone