First bleed kit in memory of murdered teen set up

Margaret Oakes (right) has installed a bleed-control kit at Norwich's Riverside Leisure Centre

The mother of a murdered teenager hopes a new bleed-control kit installed in his memory will save a life.

Raymond James Quigley - known as James - from Wymondham, Norfolk, was 18 when he was stabbed four times in Ipswich last January.

His mother, Margaret Oakes, has campaigned for bleed-control kits to be installed, and now the first one is in place.

Mrs Oakes, who said her son would "like to help people", installed the new kit on Saturday at Norwich's Riverside Leisure Centre.

Raymond James Quigley was killed in Ipswich in January 2023

"In the kits there is vital equipment like special plasters and things that will cap a bleed," she said.

"It will give them vital minutes until the emergency services can reach them, and we wanted to do this in my son's memory and to save lives.

"He would like to help people and we'd like to do that as well.

"Those minutes can be vital for someone's life."

The kits can help someone who has suffered a significant bleed.

They have a telephone connected to the emergency services, who can be alerted to any incidents.

Mrs Oakes plans to install more kits within pubs and businesses in memory of her son.

"He should be here with us - he was only 18," she said.

"I don't think there is any place where [knife-related crime] is not going on.

"It's an everyday thing - if you look it up it's constant and it's really getting out of hand."

The bleed-control kit is connected to the 999 services

Two men were jailed for life for the murder of Mr Quigley earlier this year.

Alfie Hammett and Joshua Howell, both 19, were sentenced to minimum terms of 24 and 20 years respectively.

Both men, who are from the Ipswich area, were also convicted at Ipswich Crown Court of possession of an offensive weapon.

Mr Quigley died from stab wounds to his torso, back and chest.