Rayon Pennycook: 'Knife crime in Corby has gone to the next level'

Rayon Pennycook died after being stabbed in Corby on 25 May

A teenager has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison for stabbing a boy to death in Corby. The BBC spoke to campaigners in the town about knife crime and what can be done to stop it.

Rayon Pennycook was just 16 when he was fatally stabbed.

Stefan Draca, 18, from the Northamptonshire town, has been jailed for applying the single stab wound that killed him.

The pair had been lunging at each other with knives in Reynolds Road on 25 May 2021 when the fatal blow came.

When a jury at Northampton Crown Court returned a guilty verdict in December, investigating officer Det Insp Pete Long called it a case with "no winners".

Floral tributes were left in Constable Road, Corby - next to Reynolds Road where Rayon Pennycook was stabbed

Northamptonshire Police say knife crime is a priority, but Home Office figures for the 12 months to June 2021 showed 724 serious knife offences had taken place in the county.

In August, the county was rocked again when 16-year-old Dylan Holliday was stabbed to death in Wellingborough.

The BBC has seen footage of another serious knife crime incident in Corby on 11 November. In it, one man is seen waving a large blade and another has an airgun.

Three men, one aged 18, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

'Drug gangs and county lines'

Zoe McGhee is chairwoman of North Northamptonshire Council's Levelling Up Scrutiny Committee and ward councillor for the area where Rayon Pennycook lived

After the news of Rayon Pennycook's death spread through Corby, Zoe McGhee helped organise a march through the town as part of a rally against knife crime.

As councillor for Kingswood, which covers the Hazel Leys estate where Rayon was killed, she has firm ideas on why knife crime has increased.

"There isn't a lot for teenagers to do," she says. "The Kingswood Centre has a brilliant youth club, but it is only two nights a week.

"Young people need somewhere safe to go. I don't think North Northamptonshire is providing that.

"That is why young people are turning to these lifestyles. It is influenced by drug gangs, county lines and our proximity to London."

Some 30 teenagers died in homicides in the capital last year - the highest figure this century.

Zoe McGhee helped organise an anti-knife crime march through Corby following Rayon Pennycook's death

Freshly-elected to the new North Northamptonshire unitary authority in May, Ms McGhee, 24, grew up in Corby and says she "likes to frame these things positively".

"Young people have passion and fire," she says. "You need to channel it in a positive way.

"People need to put themselves in the shoes of these young people. How scared must they be to carry a knife?"

She says providing a network of youth workers, teachers and police officers who can engage with young people "changes the game".

Banners on the march showed support for the town's young people

Collaborative solutions are the answer, Ms McGhee adds, not only to knife crime but many of society's ills.

"Levelling up needs to look at how we can bring things together - schools, police, youth clubs," she says.

"These things are connected. It is all happening in the same community.

"People experiencing child abuse, homelessness or knife crime are going to benefit from youth schemes, an end to social exclusion or better policing."

'A left-behind town'

Jack Richman, 27, founded East Midlands Knife Amnesty in 2019

Jack Richman formed the East Midlands Knife Amnesty in 2019 when he moved back to Corby from Belfast.

"I was shocked knife crime was such a problem," he says. "When I was a kid that never crossed our minds. We didn't have to walk the streets in fear."

Mr Richman's charity helped organise the anti-knife rally and installed bleed control kits in Corby, which can stop serious bleeding if someone is stabbed.

He says Corby has become "a left-behind town" with nowhere for teenagers to go.

"They sit on the side of the streets or by shops," he says. "There is no street lighting. These little things lead to bigger things.

"It is pushing our youth underground."

Blood cabinets, such as those installed by East Midlands Knife Amnesty, are available 24 hours a day

He says knife crime has "gone to the next level".

"After the death of Rayon, there was Dylan in Wellingborough and then another two stabbings in Corby, both males under 18."

Asked what advice he would give teenagers confronted with a knife, the 27-year-old says they should "run in the opposite direction".

"No matter how confident you are, accidents happen. Why take that risk?" he says.

"Rayon's family have lost a son. The other boy will spend a lot of his life in jail. This is two families' lives ruined for that one knife and single stab wound."

'As common as Corrie'

Kieran McGhee, pictured left with fellow coach James Donnachie, works as a volunteer at Corby Olympic Amateur Boxing Club

"I was a small kid with a big case of small man syndrome," Kieran McGhee says. "Lots of aggression and everything against the world.

"I know what it is like to be dismissed. If it wasn't for boxing I don't know where I would be - dead or in jail."

Now a coach at Corby Olympic Amateur Boxing Club, he works to give teenagers the same opportunity that he grasped.

Based in Saxilby Close on the Kingswood estate, the club offers classes for all ages, including an under-10s session.

Kieran McGhee says Corby Olympic Amateur Boxing Club teaches skills such as dedication and motivation

"Our goal is to create a better environment," Mr McGhee says. "To help lads focus on something else other than violence.

"From boxing, you can learn skills like dedication and motivation.

"You come under pressure a lot. If you can handle it in the boxing ring, you can handle it in the rest of your life."

Mr McGhee says knife crime is "talked about a lot because Corby is so compact you feel it is on your doorstep".

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"When I moved here five or six years ago it wasn't a thing. Now it is every other month or even week," he adds.

"I know people who have had knives pulled on them at ATMs. It's not uncommon.

"These lads talk about it like it was an episode of Coronation Street.

"It is a scary future. I have a young boy, so it is the last thing I want him to grow up with."

Corby Olympic Amateur Boxing Club is described as a "big family" based on mutual respect

The 29-year-old says many teenagers use bravado to hide their fears.

"Kids now are always scared," he says. "They don't realise if you have got a knife then you have to use it otherwise others will use it on you."

The boxing club offers classes for a range of ages, including an under-10s session

Mr McGhee tells a story about how one of his young boxers had a knife pulled on him.

"He told me he wasn't scared. I said to him 'I have boxed all my life but if anyone pulled a knife on me I would be terrified'," he says.

"Getting them to answer their own questions and solve problems gives them a sense of value.

"Every human yearns to feel accepted. That is our aim.

"Some of these kids need to burn off aggression. It helps them channel that inner rage.

"It is about being persistent. Boxing teaches you to keep pushing through.

"Things will be hard, but then you find your hands are being raised and you have won."