More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Loved ones of a father-of-two who died in a motorcycle accident have lost access to precious family photos after his Facebook account was allegedly hacked and taken down.
The sister of Jay Hayes, who died in Pembury last year, has contacted Facebook 20 times about the violation – but has never received a response.
Before it was deactivated, the family of the Halling plumber used his profile to write messages on his timeline, tag Mr Hayes in posts and look at photos.
They are now appealing for the person responsible to reactivate the account.
Younger sister Emmy Farnham, 27, said: "People used it as a way of speaking to him. I know that sounds silly. It's a way of popping on there and saying 'happy birthday' because we can't say it anymore. It's upsetting for everyone.
"It isn't important to us who did it. We aren't expecting anyone to own up or admit it, just do the right thing."
Mr Hayes, who grew up in the West Malling area, was killed in Pembury High Street when the Honda VFR800 he was riding was involved in a collision with a BMW in August last year.
His sons, then aged three and six, were due to spend their first night at their dad's new house and he had bought bunk beds for them.
He had also started a new relationship and was excited for their families to get to know each other.
The 33-year-old was described by his family as "the most loyal, caring and loving person".
"Anyone who met him always remembered him, even right back to primary school," Miss Farnham said last year.
She realised her brother's Facebook account had been deactivated in May, after his girlfriend asked if the family had taken it down.
'We aren't expecting anyone to own up or admit it, just do the right thing...'
Miss Farnham, who had her brother's phone, tried logging into his account where the login details were saved, to be told the password was incorrect.
She then went onto his email, where she found a message saying someone had tried to access his Facebook account, and then that his password had been changed.
Another bit of correspondence showed that the address used to confirm password alterations and resets had been changed to one they did not know.
Before this, Mr Hayes' profile had appeared to be online a few times, but loved ones thought it must be a glitch.
"That was obviously upsetting people, particularly his girlfriend. We would log on to Facebook and his face was there," Miss Farnham remembers.
They are at a loss over who the hacker is, but believe it must be someone who had Mr Hayes' original login details.
The email which said his password had been changed also showed a Kent IP address.
Miss Farnham says it is "impossible" to speak to Facebook, and she has tried to make contact more than 20 times with her concerns, but it never replies.
The account contained pictures of Mr Hayes with his two boys and family and friends, which were not saved anywhere else.
"We just never thought this would happen," she added.
The grieving relatives had planned to memorialise the dad's Facebook account, so no one can login, but can post memories and messages on the page. Now this comfort has been taken away from them.
Suzanne Gaveston, 71, of Woodsgate Way, Pembury, appeared in court in July, to deny causing the death of Mr Hayes by careless driving.
A trial date has been set for May.
When approached for comment, Facebook said it is investigating the account.
