'I spoke to my son about food, then he was killed'

Ibrahima Seck, 14, was stabbed shortly after leaving his home

The mother of a boy who was stabbed to death says when she last spoke to him he had been delighted to hear she was cooking one his favourite meals.

Ibrahima Seck, 14, died in hospital after he was attacked in New Moston, Manchester, while on his way to play football on the evening of 8 June.

Assa Ba said she spoke to him before he went out and he had "danced with happiness" when she told him she was cooking a meal with peanut sauce.

He then left the home before there was a knock on the door and Mrs Ba was told her son had been stabbed, she said.

"I lost my best friend and my husband lost his best friend," Mrs Ba said.

She said people in the area were now scared to let their children go outside to play and too many people were dying due to knife crime.

Ibrahima's parents have been calling for a tougher crackdown on knife crime

Mrs Ba was speaking at a protest event in the city's Piccadilly Gardens where family and friends came together to call for more to be done to tackle knife crime.

She said they were determined to help families like theirs who were going through this.

Ibrahima's father Mamadou Seck said he was "a funny boy who loved dancing and joking".

Ibrahima's cousin Maty Grueye Seck said he was "such a kind boy and a kind soul" who was named after their grandfather.

"He was a person who just lit up the room," she said.

She said: "I think the last thing I said to him was I'll call you back tomorrow and I didn't and I kind of wish I had but that's just the way life goes, unfortunately".

Tributes were left at the scene in the teenager's memory

Ms Grueye Seck said knife crime "shouldn't be a problem but it is", and while they were never going to get Ibrahima back "what we can do is prevent this happening to other people's kids".

"Every day it's somebody else's son, daughter, niece or nephew and this cannot keep happening," she added.

Two 14-year-old boys and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to their ages, were charged with murder and possession of a bladed article following Ibrahima's death.