Tributes to three graffiti artists killed by train at Loughborough Junction

Families 'heartbroken' over deaths as local Conservative leader condemned over 'common scum' tweet

Tributes have been paid to three graffiti artists who died after being hit by a train in south London.

Alberto Fresneda Carrasco, 19, Harrison Scott-Hood, 23, and Jack Gilbert, 23, are believed to have been on the tracks spraying artwork when they were struck near Loughborough Junction early on Monday morning.

Relatives and members of the London street art scene said they were “heartbroken” by their deaths, while a local Conservative party chairman provoked outrage by describing the young men as “common scum”.

British Transport Police (BTP) said the three men were thought to have been hit by an out-of-service passenger train at 1am on Monday.

Spray cans were found near their bodies, which were spotted near Brixton by a train driver more than six hours later.

Mr Scott-Hood, from Muswell Hill, north London, was described as a “beautiful artist” and “intelligent and wonderful boy” by his parents Susie and Perry.

“We are completely heartbroken by the loss of our only son,” they added. “He was the love of our life, a kind and beautiful young man.”

Mr Carrasco, a Spanish-American man who lived in Hampstead, north London, had been due to begin studying graphic design at the London College of Communication (LCC) in September.

His family said he left home at 5pm on Sunday and messaged at 10pm to say he would be home for dinner.

“Our concern grew after many hours without hearing from him. From early in the morning we learned of the accident in which ‘three men’ had died in Brixton, but at first we did not establish the connection,” said a family statement which spoke of their “great pain” at learning of the teenager’s death.

“His absence has left a deep hole in the family,” added Mr Carrasco’s mother Isabel, father Carlos and brothers Miguel, 21, and Julio, 14.

Police said the family of Mr Gilbert, from Muswell Hill, had “requested privacy at this time whilst they come to terms with their loss”.

Detective Superintendent Gary Richardson, of BTP, said: “We have a dedicated team working to establish how these young men came to be on the tracks in the early hours of yesterday morning.

“The initial evidence we have been able to gather indicates that the men may have been on the track for the purposes of spraying graffiti.

“We know the men were seen in the Brixton area of south London earlier on Sunday evening and we are working to trace their movements.”

Rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road has opened a preliminary investigation.

Messages have been left to the three men on social media under pictures of their graffiti tags of Kbag, Lover and Trip. Many of the messages read “rest in paint”.

Tributes were sprayed by other graffiti artists at Loughborough Junction, where flowers were also left at the station’s gates.

Frontline, a London graffiti website, set up an Instagram page for tributes to the trio.

Members of the capital’s street art scene also condemned Brian Cooke, chairman of the Beckenham Conservative Association, after he took aim at the BBC for describing the men killed as “graffiti artists”.

Mr Cooke, a former Transport for London board member and mayor of Bromley, tweeted: “They are no such thing they are common scum and criminals who cost the railway millions and keep fares high.”

He later appeared to be have deleted his Twitter account after being widely criticised.

Julie Ireland, a former Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Beckenham, described Mr Cooke’s tweet as “despicable”. She added: “Is there a shred of humanity left in this man?”

Mr Cooke was last month suspended as local Conservative chairman after using obscene language towards former Lib Dem mayor of Bromley Ian Payne, who he called a “two faced s**t” and a “shameful excuse for a Christian human being”

In a tweet, he later called for Lib Dems to be “exterminated”.