Yardley stab victim Hassan Mahmood 'a bright child'

The uncle of a teenager murdered in a park has paid tribute to him describing him as "a bright child with a bright future".

Hassan Mahmood, 15, was stabbed in the back in Oaklands Park, Yardley, on 15 July. He died later in hospital.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, has been found guilty of his murder and will be sentenced next month.

Sajid Ramzan said: "The killer has absolutely no remorse, and he did it with full intent as well,"

'Laughed and smiled'

The teenager admitted stabbing Hassan but said he did not intend to kill him.

Det Insp Warren Hines, of West Midlands Police, said Hassan had gone to the park expecting a fist-fight with another teenager to settle their differences, but the defendant "knowingly raised the stakes" by taking a knife.

Mr Hines said Hassan's killer "laughed and smiled" when he was told the teenager had died.

Mr Ramzan said his nephew's killer should be given "the maximum sentence".

"The judge hopefully, cross-fingers, we hope is going to give him the maximum sentence possible for his age limit."

He said he struggled to feel compassion towards the defendant.

'Feel their pain'

"I personally would have had some sort of compassion towards him, had he had some remorse, had he apologised," he said.

"But, when I saw him in the dock, he was even smirking."

Mr Ramzan said 5,000 people attended Hassan's funeral.

"He was a much-loved kid in the community... he was a bright child with a bright future," he said.

A tribute page on Facebook called "Justice for Hassan Mahmood" has garnered over 21,000 "likes".

Many people have used the page to voice their anger over the murder.

"Using a weapon and attacking someone from behind is the ultimate in cowardice and even animals only kill to survive," Julie McNicholas wrote.

Nazia Norin wrote: "I still can't imagine what your parents are going through... I've got a son that's the same age as you... I feel their pain."