Source:  Ledbury Reporter

GRIEVING mum Lucy Aldridge, from Bredenbury, was cruelly targeted by a Facebook impostor who claimed he had seen her 18-year-old soldier son William killed in Afghanistan.

The fake, who befriended dozens of soldier’s families by posing as a Royal Marine, said he would “never forget the look” on hero Will’s face as he lay dying, following a roadside blast in July.

Mrs Aldridge said: “We were taken in by somebody preying on our vulnerability as grieving mothers. It’s twisted and I cannot fathom what the motive is. The only other thing we think of is they get some twisted pleasure from the contact or being in the limelight.

“This is someone who is seriously mentally disturbed.”

A close friend and support worker had first notified Mrs Aldridge that a ‘Max Beach’ was claiming to have witnessed her son’s death, as he tended injured comrades in Sangin province last year.

Soon afterwards Mrs Aldridge became ‘online friends’ with someone calling himself Simon Barwell, who claimed to be a friend of Max and a fellow Marine.

It is believed they were the same person and that ‘Max’ was using the name of a genuine Marine, Max Beacham. The Ministry of Defence confirmed no one called Simon Barwell had ever served in the Marines.

She said: “They’re obviously very painful thoughts. As a mother you cling onto any information regarding the incident.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Aldridge’s campaign for British troops will continue on Saturday, February 6 with an auction of promises at Bromyard’s Falcon Hotel.

Money raised at the event will directly benefit Will’s comrades through the Rifleman’s Fund and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Patient Welfare Fund.