A MOTHER is campaigning for the flats where her 17-year-old son died of stab wounds to be pulled down.

Theresa Cave collected 480 signatures in one night for a petition demanding the flats in Burnmoor Close, Redcar, be demolished.

She hopes a tree or bench in memory of her son, Chris, can be placed there.

Other people in the area have also complained about the flats and want Coast and Country Housing, the association which runs former council housing in Redcar, to pull them down.

Chris was stabbed in the heart earlier this year, only yards from home.

Mrs Cave, who has a three-year-old son, Thomas, said: "After Chris died, I was told they were considering demolishing the flats anyway and this had decided the issue for them.

"They even said they would plant a tree or erect a bench in his memory, which I thought was lovely. However, since then I've been told they want to rent the flats out again, including the one where Chris died. To me, that is sacred ground and I want them pulled down."

Ronny Harris, director of housing operations at Coast and Country Housing, said: "No final decision will be made in relation to this particular block of flats until the results of a feasibility study, which we have commissioned with an architect, are known.

"Coast and Country Housing has no objections to working closely with Mrs Cave in relation to her finding a site for a bench or plaque."

Sean Matson, 20, of Langthwaite Walk, Redcar, has been charged with Chris Cave's murder. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial will be heard at Teesside Crown Court in November.