UP to 100 people are expected to march through the streets of Southampton this weekend for Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.

Starting from the Guildhall at 12pm today, the march will be heading through the city, around St Mary’s stadium and then back to the Guildhall in memory of the six-year-old who died in June 2020.

Organised by Bursledon resident, Katie-Ann Thorn, the event has mostly been set up through the Facebook page “March in memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes” and is in aid of raising money for children’s charity, NSPCC.

Arthur, from Solihull, West Midlands, died in hospital in June 2020 after suffering what was described as “an unsurvivable brain injury.”

His stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, has since been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years at Coventry Crown Court after being found guilty of the six-year-old’s murder.

His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter.

Katie-Ann told the Echo: “I’d seen what had happened on the news to Arthur and it absolutely broke my heart. I watched all the videos and read all the articles and it really hit me.

“So I decided to make a Facebook group. I didn’t think I was going to get many people, but overnight I had about 300 people on the page from all over the world. The whole point of the march is to raise money for NSPCC, but the main reason is to get across the fact that we need to stop child cruelty and child abuse.”

Advertised as a “family friendly peaceful march”, people who are taking part are being encouraged to bring banners and posters and will be wearing face coverings in line with Covid-19 regulations.

On return to the Guildhall, those taking part are expected to release balloons.