MP writes to Disney over Spider-Man gravestone dispute

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Ollie Jones with his fatherImage source, Family handout
Image caption,

Ollie Jones's face used to "light up" when he saw Spider-Man, his father said

An MP is taking on Disney after a grieving family were told they could not use an image of Spider-Man on their son's gravestone.

Ollie Jones died days before Christmas from a rare genetic condition.

His dad Lloyd wrote to Marvel and Disney in a bid to be allowed to give his son a unique headstone with an image of his favourite superhero.

However, Disney refused the request to "preserve the innocence and magic" of its characters.

Helen Whately, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, has now written to Disney to appeal for the company to show some compassion.

Image caption,

Helen Whately MP has written to Disney

She said: "Disney is all about realising children's dreams and this is something they could do for a child and their family.

"There are images of Disney characters all over the place. There are lots of things that feature Spider-Man so why not a gravestone?"

"I'm doing what I can to help. They clearly have a huge amount of support."

A petition set up in support of the family's request has amassed more than 120,000 signatures.

Mr Jones, from Maidstone, added: "It's upsetting. He was into Spider-Man. I can't get him anything else now that he has gone. It would have been a nice last little present I could have got him."

A representative from Disney said the decision had been made as a result of a policy that started with Walt Disney himself which does not permit the use of characters on headstones.

Disney has since told the Jones family it would be happy to provide them with a hand-inked, personalised commemorative cel for Ollie, who died from leukodystrophy.

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