Birmingham Broad Street hero honours his mum with flowers for a lovely reason

Every Mum loves being proud of her son, but not many Mums are prouder than 87-year-old Jane White.

Because Jane is the woman responsible for bringing street warden Enoch White into the world … a man who’s become one of Birmingham city centre’s top heroes.

He recently helped police to rescue a woman who had stumbled off a bridge near the National Sea Life Centre and has previously helped officers catch violent criminals and shoplifters. As a result, his employer, Westside Business Improvement District (BID) decided to mark and celebrate her wonderful motherhood by delivering her a huge bouquet from Ethos Flowers in Brindleyplace.

Enoch’s mum Jane arrived in Britain back in 1955 from the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, working in the IMI arms factory in Aston and bringing up four children. She was widowed last year, but still lives in her home in Ward End, and is regularly visited by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Enoch, himself now 66, is the second eldest of Jane’s two sons and daughters, and has three of his own children, and nine grandchildren. He said: “Mum was thrilled to receive this lovely bouquet from Westside BID and Ethos, as she loves flowers. She was overwhelmed by the gesture, although she did ask me why I hadn’t given them to my wife instead!

“I told her: ‘Mum, you brought me into this world, you brought me up, and everything I am is largely down to your motherhood … this bouquet is just a very small way of saying thank you for being such a great mother!’”

Elaine Weir, business liaison manager for Westside BID, said: “Enoch’s regularly in action across Westside – not only with his everyday assistance and guidance for workers and visitors, but often going above and beyond his duties. His most recent outstanding mission was helping police officers to save a woman who had stumbled off a 12-foot high bridge into a deep part of the canal opposite the National Sea Life Centre earlier this month.

“But this was by no means the first time he’s put himself on the line, with other actions including catching shoplifters, helping police to arrest violent criminals and always being first on the scene to calm down any situations where people are panicking. Enoch really has become one of our heroes … and we wanted to thank his mum Jane, the woman who delivered him into the world and brought him up with such valuable principles.”