A charity will unveil a touching tribute to Ian Coates, who was stabbed to death during the Nottingham attacks, at this weekend's Forest match at the City Ground. The 65-year-old school caretaker was killed on Magdala Road on June 13, last year, as spree killer Valdo Calocane went on a rampage that also took the lives of University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber, 19, and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19.
As well as being a beloved family man and supportive mentor to young people, Mr Coates was also a huge Nottingham Forest fan, with his three sons wearing Reds shirts during an Old Market Square vigil held in the wake of the awful stabbings. Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes, which provides a free blood delivery service to the NHS, has now said it will be presenting the Coates family with a heartwarming tribute at half-time during Nottingham Forest's Premier League home fixture with Aston Villa on Saturday, December 14.
The match kicks off at 5.30pm and is live on Sky Sports. Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes, sharing the news on Facebook, said: "This Saturday we are proud to be attending the Aston Villa game for a special ceremony. At half time, we will present the family of Ian Coates with a blood bike named in his honour.
"By naming our bike after Ian his legacy can live on as we serve the people of Nottinghamshire on Ian’s bike, and deliver life saving blood for the NHS." The charity will also be fundraising before the match at the City Ground's entrances and in the Fanzone.
In the early hours of June 13, 2023, Calocane killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar as they came home from a night out before stabbing Mr Coates to death and using his stolen van to attempt to kill three more people. He had just bought the fishing van and was on the verge of a happy retirement when he was senselessly killed in Mapperley Park.
Ian Coates was killed on June 13, 2023
As well as being a beloved family man and supportive mentor to young people, Ian Coates was also a huge Nottingham Forest fan (Image: Nottinghamshire Police/PA Wire)
Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane, 32, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility in January, as well as the attempted murders of Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller with Ian Coates' stolen van. The families of his victims, including the Coates, have heavily criticised Nottinghamshire's health services and police force for failings in the lead up to his killings.