Boy barred from brother's funeral

Nobody has been charged in connection with Daniel Bogle's death

The mother of a teenage prison inmate says she is angry he is not being allowed to attend his murdered brother's funeral.

Josiah Bogle, 15, is being held at Brinsford Young Offenders' Institution in south Staffordshire, near Wolverhampton.

His brother, Daniel Bogle, who was 19-years-old, was shot dead as he talked to friends on Drake Road in Smethwick last month.

Their mother, Barbara Bogle, says she has been told Josiah cannot go to Thursday's funeral because prison staff could be at risk if they accompany him.

Mrs Bogle told BBC Radio WM that she is very unhappy that her son will not get the chance to say goodbye to his brother.

He's going to serve his time and come out next April and all he's going to look at is a headstone Barbara Bogle

"My mother, Daniel's grandmother, took the phone and said (to the Prison Service worker) 'Can I have the reason why?'

"And, basically, he said that because it was a shooting he was concerned about the safety of his staff.

"So because of his staff he's going to deny my son his right to say goodbye to his brother."

She added: "Bearing in mind he'll never see him again, he's going to serve his time and come out next April and all he's going to look at is a headstone. I think it's disgusting."

A Home Office spokesperson said they could not comment on individual cases.

But he said that, when a prisoner makes an application for release, studies are made into the potential risk of such a move.

He added that permission for release had not been granted on this occasion.