TURKS MARK BOY'S DEATH

THE family of a Scots toddler shot dead in Turkey returned to the scene yesterday to witness the street being renamed in his honour.

David Grimason and his Turkish-born wife Ozlem returned to the seaside resort of Foca for the first time since their two-year-old son Alistair was shot in the heart when a gunfight broke out in the cafe where he, Ozlem and her mother were eating.

Just ten yards away from the cafe, a large white banner fluttered over the street. It read: "Ali Star", taking the spelling the Turkish people have adopted, "be sure your spirit will be alive in our hearts."

Ozlem's mother, Gulay Essizhan, said: "I doubt there's a single person in Turkey who hasn't heard of Alistair's death."

Yesterday David, 31, and Ozlem, 28, laid a wreath of white irises on the ground before David gave a speech. He told the crowd, which included the mayor: "I won't lie to you. Yeni Foca is a place I loved to visit, but this is a difficult time for us." He and Ozlem then helped hang the new blue street name - "Ali Star Caddesi" (Alistair's street) - paid for by locals.

The beach where the toddler played has also been renamed after him, and locals want to erect a marble monument to him.

The tragedy sparked a debate on the country's gun laws. Last month 32-year-old Daimi Akyuz was arrested in connection with the killing.

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