The family of murdered Michael Kerr have bought a star and named it after him.

It is called The Michael James Kerr Star, and is a lasting tribute to the life of the 30-year-old DJ, of King’s Rope Walk, Aycliffe, who was stabbed to death by two women in April.

Over the Christmas period, Michael’s mother, Pat Coleman, took to Facebook and posted the image of a certificate stating that Michael now has a star named after him on his memorial page.

The post read: “Auntie Rose got you this for Christmas so you’ve now got a star named after you, shine brightly for eternity my angel. Mummy loves and misses you."

Michael’s name is registered as part of the Intergalactic Star Database, processed by an online gift site, Getting Personal.

The website allows people to personalise gifts of all kinds, and in this case, for people to “own a heavenly body and dedicate it to someone special.”

The naming of the star ensures replaces the number which is used to look up certain stars in the galaxy.

The registration lasts indefinitely, so no one else will be able to over-write it.

The certificate reveals a number, location, and the family of stars to which it belongs.

With more than 300 likes and 10 comments, the certificate allowed people to share more memories and pay their respects to the guy who was well known to the community.

For the full report, see this week's Mercury.