'Smelly pants wee' plaque to remember cancer boy is removed

It is unclear who removed the plaque in the St Chads Queensway underpass

An unofficial blue plaque to remember a five-year-old boy who died of cancer has been removed.

Kip Freshwater, from Handsworth in Birmingham, became known for a recording of him shouting "smelly pants wee" while on his way for treatment.

After his death in 2021 his family put up a plaque in St Chad's Queensway underpass where he had loved to shout cheeky words.

Ed Freshwater, Kip's father, said he did not know who had removed it.

Birmingham City Council said it had spoken to officers and contractors and they were unaware the plaque had been removed.

The authority also said: "We are very sensitive to the impact of moving or removing memorials and our crews inform officers when they come across such memorials."

Since Kip's death a charitable fund set up in his memory has raised tens of thousands of pounds.

Kip spent much of his life receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia suffering a relapse in October 2020.

He became famous when his father shared a recording of his outburst that year with Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, on BBC Radio 5Live.

The show then shared it on its social media channels.

Mr Freshwater said the shared clip "seemed to capture a moment", with people getting in touch to say it helped them get through a tough moment during lockdown.

An online appeal, set up by the family, has raised more than £45,000 for a number of charities that help children.

Mr Freshwater said: "The plaque was just a way to mark Kip's contribution to the world. The small bit of celebrity he got from this raised loads of money that will save thousands of children's lives around the world."

He said he put the plaque up in October 2022, two years after he made the recording in the underpass that led to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Mr Freshwater said he tried to email several people for permission, but received no response.

"In the end I just glued it up because it was the anniversary and nobody was replying," he said.

The person who made the plaque has offered a discount to make a replacement, Mr Freshwater said.