A B&B owned is alleged to have told the father of murdered Elle Edwards she “didn’t care” about his charity walk aimed at raising money in her memory.
Tim Edwards and pal John May are in the final stint of a 250 mile trek from Merseyside to Land’s End. They are raising money for Elle’s foundation, set up in the wake of the 26-year-old’s murder on Christmas Eve.
But the pair told the ECHO they arrived at a pre-booked B&B on Thursday, August 17 in Devon – only to be turned away by owners who “heard their Scouse accents”.
Actor John, who paused his career to support Tim, says the owners “squared up to them” when they arrived at East Hillerton House in Spreyton, Devon. Even after John and Tim tried to explain the reasons for their walk and showed press coverage of their achievements, the owners allegedly told them “we don’t care about that”.
The hotel’s owners have since apologised to John and Tim. John told the ECHO: “We had just finished walking and were in the middle of nowhere. We arranged a taxi to come and get us, so called ahead to let the B&B know we were on our way. She asked us if we had been drinking which we hadn’t.
“She rang back and told us ‘we have children here’. We knew she was going to be trouble. It seemed she switched as soon as she heard the accent. When we pulled up her husband came out and started puffing out his chest.
“I tried to say ‘hello sir, how are you’ but he just repeated what she had said about it being his house and there were children there. I tried to explain about the walk and showed them the press coverage we have.
“Tim even said I’m walking in the name of my daughter and they said ‘we don’t care about that’. We didn’t even make it through the front door.”
Tim set up the Elle Edwards’ Foundation to keep his daughter’s memory alive. Elle, a beautician who lived in Wallasey, was caught in a hail of bullets fired by Connor Chapman in a botched gang shooting.
Tim described Elle as “the most beautiful and bright star”, who “loved life and had so many amazing plans for the future”. Her killer, Connor Chapman 23, was jailed for a minimum of 48 years in prison. Tim set up a Gofundme page called Elle’s army, dedicated to the cause.
Tim and John set off on the final stint of their walking challenge on August 7. They are expected to arrive at Land’s End on August 24 – both of their birthdays.
As well as raising funds for the foundation, the pair hope to raise awareness about anti-gun and knife crime across the world. John added: “This is Tim’s mission and I’ve taken time out of my life to be here to support my friend.
“We’ve been welcomed everywhere we’ve gone in this amazing part of the country. The way we were spoken to by the couple has tarnished that. We knew in our hearts they didn’t want us there because we were Scousers.
“The owner has called us today and apologised. She told us the way she acted was not the kind of person she was. She told us she would make a donation to the fundraiser.
“I was tossing and turning about bringing the B&B’s treatment to attention, but they were aggressive and shouted in our face. They were willing to leave us in the middle of nowhere. We are trying to do amazing things.”
The two men were offered alternative accommodation after another hotel that spotted their story on social media.
The ECHO approached East Hillerton House for a comment. But the venue has yet to respond.
You can visit the fundraising page here. Tim and John will also be posting daily updates on social media, including YouTube which can be found here.
