Khayri Mclean murder: 'Every time they go out all you do is worry'

A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of Khayri Mclean's murder, with a 15-year-old pleading guilty to the same charge

Khayri Mclean was just 15 years old when he was ambushed and stabbed to death by two teenagers as he walked home from school in Huddersfield. His killing left fellow pupils and members of the local community reeling with grief and shock.

Speaking less than 24 hours after the fatal stabbing one 12-year-old boy said he felt "traumatised" by what had happened just 400 yards from the gates to North Huddersfield Trust School, while parents asked: "Is anywhere around here safe?"

Now, six months on, people living in the West Yorkshire town say they fear that without rapid intervention more young lives could be lost to a culture of carrying knives and gang affiliation, while those working to steer young people away from a life of violence say they are struggling to meet demand.

"Every time they go out all you do is worry," says the father of one teenager in Huddersfield, speaking anonymously to the BBC.

"He's been in town before where he's been approached by about 10 lads and they've threatened him with a knife, they're big gangs and they've always got conflict with each other from postcode wars," he says.

"There's always arguments on social media, you get people messaging saying 'where you from?' and they'll start on them just because they're from a certain area."

Parents in Huddersfield say with some young people still choosing to carry knives, similar attacks could happen

The motive for Khayri's murder remains unclear, but during the trial of his 17-year-old murderer a friend claimed it was "because Khayri was in a gang and had left the gang" while the killer's mother described Khayri as an "enemy" of her son.

The father says he is worried about his son growing up in the area, with gang-related problems a current feature of their everyday lives.

According to the latest figures available from the Office for National Statistics there were 2,353 serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in West Yorkshire in the 12 months to September 2022, up from 2,246 the previous year.

Already this year West Yorkshire Police are investigating five fatal stabbings, two of which involved teenage victims.

Another parent who spoke to the BBC says she has already seen her 15-year-old son descend down a dangerous path after he became close to a group of teenagers who smoked drugs together and carried weapons.

"He was caught with a knife [and] when he got interviewed he said he was taking it for protection," she recalls.

"They've then explained to him that they could end up getting hurt with their own weapon."

Khayri Mclean was attacked a short distance away from North Huddersfield Trust School after finishing classes

Despite her efforts to intervene and gain external support, she says the situation is now "worse than ever".

"The older children who he thinks are his friends - he will do whatever they ask him to do," she says.

"He could end up in prison or end up owing somebody money, he could end up being stabbed."

Khayri Mclean died from a stab wound to his chest on 21 September

"People say keep them off the streets [but] when I was younger there were youth clubs with people who could help and talk to you if they knew you were getting into trouble," the father adds.

"[Now] there's nowhere for them to go."

Sophie Simpson, who grew up in Fartown, where Khayri lived, is attempting to help change this through her Conscious Youth social enterprise, working with thousands of young people across Kirklees.

"We have some young people, their idea of safety is to front up and pull out a knife," she says.

"If another person backs down from that they're seen as weak."

Conscious Youth, which she established with Serena Johnson in 2016, aims to build the self-esteem and self-worth of people aged 11-25 by "changing their outlook on life, by broadening their horizons and helping them to empower themselves".

It runs youth work, projects, events and workshops developed after consultations with young people to encourage participation.

"When you send your child to school you don't expect it to be the last time you say goodbye," Ms Simpson says.

"I knew Khayri from the community, I know his mum.

"My initial reaction was to cry - he left school, walked out the gates and was murdered."

AJ (left) and Nico (right), say the youth club gives them somewhere safe to relax, play computer games and eat with friends

AJ and Nico are among two of the young people who regularly attend a youth club Conscious Youth runs in the centre of Huddersfield.

"You feel very safe here, it's a warm feeling when you come in," says AJ as he tucks into a basket of chips.

"They've got music on, everyone is nice to each other, you never have a problem."

Those who run the club worry personal safety has declined sharply since they were growing up in the town.

"Knowing what's going on right now, especially in Deighton and in surrounding areas, Brackenhall and Fartown, it saddens me," says Ms Johnson, speaking close to the spot where Khayri was killed.

"The children have to walk past here every day and see all of this, it's heartbreaking," she says.

"I don't want to walk a few metres up the road and be walking past another area where a young person has lost their life."

Rawthorpe Amateur Boxing Club sees about 600 young attendees each week

West Yorkshire Police's Jim Griffiths, who grew up in Kirklees, says the force is carrying out extra patrols in areas recently impacted by knife crime and helping to carry out education programmes, "but we can't be everywhere all at once".

"That's why we need the help of parents, professionals or the help of friends - because those individuals who know those who are carrying knives could be the key," he says.

Over at Rawthorpe Amateur Boxing Club, founder Mark Reynolds says up to 600 people come to keep fit and meet friends.

Among those to pass through the doors was Khayri himself, who had been visiting the club in the months before he died.

Mr Reynolds believes that by "spreading the gospel of amateur boxing" he can help provide the support a lot of young people need to avoid the "money, power and greed" of gang life.

"A lot of these young people that are up to all sorts on the streets, they want to come to a boxing club because it's good street cred for them," he says.

"[But] once we've got them, we'll turn them around."

Mark Reynolds, Rawthorpe Amateur Boxing Club, says amateur boxing can help turn young lives around

Both Conscious Youth and the boxing club say they aim to increase the number of young people they help on a weekly basis, but several factors were currently working against them.

"We're struggling. Our bills are four times more a month than they ever were," Mr Reynolds says.

"The cost of living has gone up, but there's not as many people coming because of the cost of living and the pandemic."

Ms Johnson adds: "A lot of places were closed in 2016 when there were cuts to new services, we knew what the impact would be to young people locally."

Speaking at the youth club Conscious Youth runs on a Friday night, she adds: "We want this building open every night of the week, but we don't have the funding."

A spokesperson for Kirklees Council said it had recently provided £1m of funding for local groups as part of the Kirklees 'Our Space' programme "to create more places for young people to spend time in a safe and supportive environment" in addition to funding in "priority neighbourhoods" for groups like Conscious Youth.

In a statement the council said: "There are difficult and complex issues behind knife crime and they affect communities across the country. Here in Kirklees, we will work within our limited resources, and alongside our partner organisations and local communities, to protect young people."