Tanesha Melbourne-Blake: Murder victim, 17, 'had no gang links'

Tanesha Melbourne-Blake was found with gun shot wounds in Tottenham in April

The family of a teenage girl killed in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham said they spent Christmas and her birthday by her graveside.

Tanesha Melbourne-Blake was shot on Chalgrove Road on 2 April as she walked with friends - nobody has been charged with her murder.

Her mother said the impact of Tanesha's death had been "long lasting" and "indescribable".

Det Insp Beverley Kofi said Tanesha had "no gang affiliations whatsoever".

Police believe the teenager was shot by someone sitting in the passenger seat of a Vauxhall Meriva.

Speaking after the shooting, Tanesha's friend Tyesha, 21, told the BBC she was "just chilling with her friends" when she was shot.

"The car just pulled up and just started shooting," she said.

Tanesha's death came at a time when London was enduring a spate of killings in 2018

Five days after the killing, the grey Vauxhall was found burnt out in Barnet.

Tanesha's death came at a time when London was enduring a spate of killings in 2018 - a year which saw more than 130 people killed across the capital.

She was killed 13 weeks before her 18th birthday.

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"Our first Christmas without Tanesha was devastating and extremely hard. It didn't feel like Christmas without her here," her mother said.

"Tanesha loved Christmas with her youngest siblings and enjoyed spending time with us all.

"As big as she was, she always opened one present on Christmas Eve; a tradition we will never be able to do again."

A 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains released under investigation.