THE mother of a murdered teenager has told students of the harsh realities of knife crime.

It was the first time that Theresa Cave from Redcar, East Cleveland, had been invited into a school or college in the area to talk about the impact her son Christopher's death had had on her and his younger brother Tom.

She was invited to Redcar and Cleveland College to talk to Level 3 Public Services students as part of their work on crime, psychology, trends and themes, the law and knife and gun crime.

The students were able to ask her questions about the events leading to Christopher's death and the impact on loved ones, as well as the effect on the perpetrator and his family.

He was just 17 when he was stabbed to death more than ten years ago.

Christopher worked as a trainee accountant and volunteered at the local Connexions Youth Group in Redcar. He had never looked for trouble, but paid the ultimate price by trying to protect a friend that night.

Since then, his mother has campaigned to raise awareness about knife and gun crime, joining the Point7 awareness group in trying to educate young people about the effects of crime on families.

"I was really happy to come into college to help the students with their work on crime and the effects on society because I have first hand knowledge - Christopher's death devastated us," said Mrs Cave.

"I have done many talks across the country, and even abroad, but have never spoken to young people in this area about the events that night, so it has been an emotional experience for me.

"These students are the age Chris was when he died, so I think it's very relevant to them."