The mother of teenager who was murdered in a knife attack has warned more needs to be done to tackle violent crime.

Jack Woodley was attacked with punches and kicks before being stabbed twice by a 'Rambo-style' 25cm knife in Houghton-le-Spring in October 2021.

Read more: Gateshead stabbing: Redcar mum Theresa Cave ‘devastated’

The Northern Echo:

Earlier this year, his ten teenage killers were jailed for a combined minimum of 124 years for the attack.

Now Jack’s mother, Zoey McGill, said early prevention was key to tackled knife crime.

She said: “We need more education from experienced people, such as the likes of Ronnie and Paul, Jack’s boxing coaches, who can provide one to one education that meets the needs of different children.

“We need people who actually work with the kids and keep them off the streets and higher sentences even for being found with a knife.

“The young man who stabbed Jack had already done a programme which clearly did not work. He was let off when they found him with the same style knife that killed Jack.

“Had he been given an automatic sentence of five years, Jack would still be here.”

Zoey, who previously described Jack as a "loving" boy who "lit up any room with his laughing and joking" said: “There is nothing for these kids to do because they feel they cannot trust the system.”

The Northern Echo:

Zoey recently joined the ‘Carry Respect, Not a Blade’ campaign to help end knife violence, and she also a paid a visit to the Knife Angel ¬in Redcar this week – a statue created in two years from 100,000 weapons which were confiscated or surrendered to police.

Speaking after Jack’s killers were sentenced, Zoey said: “It puts out a message to other people, if you’re going to involve yourself with this kind of thing, whether you’ve punched, kicked, held someone [down], you’re a murderer,” she said.

"Don’t carry a knife. Don’t put yourself in that position where you could possibly use it and don’t just think because you’ve been with the people carrying the knives that you can’t be prosecuted, because you can and Jack’s case has proved that.”

Read next:

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here