Paul Smith, also known as Teardrop or Punkie Paul because of tattoos on his face, had every chance to live a full and happy life after an initial bad start as a child in Bristol, where he had lived in a children’s home. When the home was closed, he was brought to Leominster with two other young boys by a kindly church-going family who made up for the ‘lost’ years by treating him just as they did their own children.
A spokesperson for his adoptive family said: “Everyone is terribly upset at what has happened. Paul and his adoptive brothers had a wonderful happy upbringing as part of a large family unit where they received huge amounts of love and tenderness. But I believe Paul still carried the feeling of being rejected as a young child and this was possibly linked to the counselling and treatment he had been receiving in the Stonebow Unit.”
Asking that the family be left to grieve privately, she said Paul was considered a likeable lad at the Minster School, and an above average boy destined for a bright future.
One former school friend said : “The boys all came to Leominster together and grew up at Eyton. We went to school in town together and they could be boisterous like any other lads. I have happy memories of Paul and his two brothers. He came from a happy home.”
Paul most recently worked for Keith Strangward at Stoke Prior. He said : “It’s a real shame. He sat with me drinking tea in my kitchen only a fortnight ago. He was a very good worker and a hell of a nice chap. We knew he had a few problems but generally he managed to deal with them. Back in the summer he had a few days off to go and get some help. We thought he had got himself back on the rails. Nobody ever dreamt it would come to this and that his problems were that bad. It makes you feel a bit angry that he couldn’t come to us and then we could have helped.”
Another former employer was Ray Bullock of Pinnacle Structures at Ewyas Harold. Mr Bullock said Paul had been a reliable and trustworthy worker, joining lodging gangs working away on steel buildings all over the country. Eventually family life and a new child made Paul give up this lifestyle and settle in town.
“I knew he had been in trouble but I never minded employing people who had served time and taken their punishment. He was extremely hard working but had some downsides which eventually obviously got the better of him,” added Mr Bullock.
A few years ago Paul and some friends took a Primrose Motors bus which crashed into Shock’s Supplies in Burgess Street. Paul was driving and the incident was widely reported. Proprietor Peter Shock said Paul turned up at his home and apologised profusely for damaging the shop premises.
“I got on with him well after that. It was a prank that went wrong and he was sorry for it. I accepted his apology and he took the punishment and carried on with life,” he added.
Andrew’s wife Nichola has said she knew he may self-harm from messages received late on Tuesday. She was his second wife. Andrew also leaves a teenage son from his first marriage. He was from Kington and had posted information about his progress on the Friends Reunited website which told of a new beginning in Leominster with Nichola.
