Mum of murdered boy wants knife law to go further

Pooja Kanda said the upcoming anniversary of her son's death was "very tough"

The mother of a boy who was stabbed to death in Wolverhampton has welcomed a new law clamping down on knives, but believes it could have gone further.

Ronan Kanda, 16, was murdered by two teenagers who had bought a set of swords and a machete on the internet, in a case of mistaken identity in June 2022.

The law banning machetes and zombie knives is due to come into force in England and Wales in September.

Speaking ahead of the second anniversary of her son's death, mother Pooja Kanda said the law was a "good step forward, but it's not [a] strong step forward".

She said there were "loopholes" and claimed sellers would work around any bans by selling different kinds of knives.

Ronan had just completed his GCSEs when he was murdered close to his home.

Two 17-year-olds were sentenced in July last year for his murder.

Prabjeet Veadhesa is serving a minimum term of 18 years and Sukhman Shergill a minimum of 16.

Ronan was killed in a case of mistaken identity

Ms Kanda told BBC Radio WM the anniversary of Ronan's death on Saturday would be "very tough" and "very painful".

She described her son as "beautiful, loving, caring, funny, witty".

"What can I tell you? [He was] the best son, the best brother and we missed out on what life is, after losing him."