‘How many more of our children have to die before someone tackles knife crime?’

“I know what Harry Pitman’s family are going through, myself and my family have been there. What about Elianne’s family, her mum sent her to school and never realised she was never going to see her daughter again. That pain is indescribable and you know what the worse part is? It never goes away, it leaves a hole in your heart for your family for the rest of your life.”

Sue Hedges lost her son Ricky Hayden in 2016. Ricky lost his life to knife crime in a brutal attack that even saw the family dog have his throat slashed. Now, she and her daughter April spend every possible moment campaigning against this knife crime epidemic.

“London is lawless, we all know that. Yesterday, 12 year olds were on the street of Havering armed with a knife threatening people. These are children carrying weapons that kill. Children that are killing each other. Why is nobody choosing to do anything about it? I guess it doesn’t impact them so they don’t care.

“We have met with endless politicians, Mayor and they all promise and do not deliver. Here we are in 2024 and the new year began with `16 year old Harry Pitman stabbed whilst watching a firework display. Why? No reason, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that sentence is rubbish. There is no wrong place or wrong time, our children should be free to watch firework displays, or board a bus to go to school safely.

“Do these people who sit behind desks and come up with pointless schemes to tackle knife crime actually know the reality? Have they walked the streets of London and seen what is going on? No, they haven’t and this clearly shows.

“We are now at the point where parents are buying stab proof clothing for their children, that’s how bad it is.Parents are phoning their child repeatedly when they leave school, as they fear they will be stabbed or attacked on their way home.”

Sue is like so many other bereaved parents, tired of the endless campaigning and nothing being done.

“We are all broken families. We campaign to keep our children’s memory alive and pray that no other family will undergo what we did. Yet they are everyday. We walk the streets most days in the hope to deter youths from carrying knives or handing out life saving bleed kits.”

Sue would dearly love to see some unity across the capital to tackle knife crime.

“Most of the work being done across London is by anti knife crime campaigners. They do a truly fantastic job working with our youths. Police Schools officers and Youth Engagement officers also work hard with their communities to deter youths from carrying knives. But there is so much work that needs to be done.

“We have been begging for a united effort right across London to tackle this. To work with the Met Police and London Ambulance to get some unity and start working as a community, but nothing gets done. We have asked the Met to be involved in their schemes to get us working together to tackle this epidemic, but no one reaches out to us.

“Nothing will be solved sitting behind a desk. The knife crime problem needs to be addressed on many fronts and it starts by working with your community and reaching out to them.

“As parents we are so very tired of watching another tent go up where another child has lost his life. Please let us work together now.”

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