'Bleed kit could save a family going through hell'

Hayley Ryall said she deals with Mikey's death by "keeping as busy as I can"

The mother of a 16-year-old who was fatally stabbed hopes the installation of bleed kits will "save another family from going through hell".

Mikey Roynon, from Kingswood in Bristol, was stabbed with a zombie knife at a house party in Bath in June 2023.

Since then, his mum, Hayley Ryall, has formed the charity Mikey's World, which has teamed up with the police to install the specialist first-aid kits around her son's hometown.

"I hope that they do help saves lives, but my biggest hope is that this pandemic of knife crime stops," said Ms Ryall.

Hayley Ryall and Chief Insp Mike Vass with the bleed kit outside The Cossham Inn

In May, 16-year-old Shane Cunningham was detained for life for Mikey's murder.

His two friends, Leo Knight and Cartel Bushnell, also 16, were jailed for nine years and six months and nine years, respectively, for manslaughter.

"It's changed my life. I don't know how I get through day-to-day," said Ms Ryall.

"Every single morning I wake up and think 'oh no'. I think it must have been a nightmare."

'Save another family'

Ms Ryall said she has channelled her grief into preventing other families experiencing such a loss.

"A bleed kit wouldn't have saved Mikey, I know that," she said.

"But it's not about that, it could save another family from going through hell."

Ms Ryall's campaign comes amidst a rise in knife crime in the local area, including the deaths of several teenagers.

"We wanted to raise awareness of the severity that a knife injury can cause and how quickly somebody can lose their life," she explained.

"They've got three minutes on an artery wound.

"I don't think that people are aware of that. An ambulance can't get there in three minutes."

Ms Ryall said in an emergency people should call 999 and the handler will talk them through how to use the kit

The kits contain emergency dressings and tourniquets to stop catastrophic bleeding.

The organisation has bought 20 of them, thanks to donations from the community and a new partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, HeartSafe, and NHS England South West.

They are hoping to install all of the kids by the end of July.

"We're looking at places where there are children; parks, community centres, schools," said Ms Ryall, who is supported by family and friends, including Mikey’s Dad, Spike, and her partner, Scott.

They charity is also planning to place the kits near nightclubs and pubs.

"It might not just be a stabbing, it could be somebody who's knocked over or there's a car accident," she said.

Mikey's family and friends have been supporting Hayley's campaign

Avon and Somerset Police began a initiative last year to install 500 bleed kits across the region by the end of 2024.

The first one, in collaboration with Mikey's World, was installed last week outside The Cossham Inn in Kingswood, where Mikey's family live.

The charity has since rolled them out at several other locations including Kingswood Rugby Club, Kings Oak Academy and Lyde Green Community Centre.

One is set to be placed at Hanham Woods Academy this week.

The police said: "These kits can be used by anyone, even those without medical training, in the critical moments before emergency services arrive."

Ms Ryall said Mikey's friends had been "good as gold", adding: "They always check in, they ring me, they text me"

Meanwhile, Ms Ryall said she deals with her son's murder by "keeping as busy as I can, and pretending it didn't happen".

"I think it gets harder. I don't think I've even grieved yet if I'm honest.

"My head just shuts it off and goes, 'no, keep going'," she said.

It has now been more than a year since Mikey died.

"It's horrible, I don't want to leave him behind in last year."