Shocked relatives gather at Bigley home

The relatives of Ken Bigley gathered at family home today from where they made their first heartbreaking plea to save his life.

Ken’s son Craig and brother Philip had pleaded for mercy, but after days of agony and hope their prayers were unanswered.

The news seeping out from the Middle East was what they had dreaded and the family and local community were coming to terms with the shock.

The mid-terraced Victorian house where Ken had been brought up in Liverpool was bathed in autumn sunshine today.

Ken’s mother Lil, 86, had only recently returned to the house from hospital after collapsing under the stress after her son’s kidnapping.

A Zimmer frame was delivered earlier in the day before a district nurse made a brief home call.

At about 1pm Philip Bigley arrived at the home following his brother Stan, 65, a retired lorry driver from Wigan who had come to be with his mother this morning.

The police have kept an officer on guard outside the house since Ken was taken captive. Today, as hope dwindled, the policeman was soon joined by more officers with police cars.

Media and TV crews from across the world had descended on the street in past weeks as hopes of Ken’s release rose and then were dashed. A mass of photographers lined up directly opposite the family home alongside TV crews and newspaper reporters today.

At 3.30pm, as mothers pushed prams and children skipped along after just finishing school, police sealed the road off.

Then two unmarked police cars pulled up outside the home followed by a marked police car.

Stan Bigley, in shirt and tie, left the house followed by his brother Philip and Merseyside Police family liaison officers. They got into separate cars and left at speed with the police escort.

They left their community in shock, but also anger.