Danny Castledine: Family of student killed in Amsterdam left devastated

Danny Castledine, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, was stabbed to death

The family of a student who was stabbed to death abroad say they have been left devastated by his death.

Danny Castledine, 22, from Nottinghamshire, was killed while on holiday in Amsterdam in June.

His mother Alison said her son had become a victim out of nowhere after he was attacked on a night out.

His friends and family have raised £15,000, half of which will be used to run workshops to prevent knife crime.

Danny's family and friends have raised thousands of pounds in his memory

Mrs Castledine said anyone could be a victim of knife crime.

"You might think, like we thought, we don't need to be involved in this, we know that Danny's not going to be involved in anything like this, but we've suddenly become a victim from nowhere," she said.

Danny, who was from Mansfield, was a student at Leeds Beckett University.

He loved travelling and was due to go to Belgium in June. He stopped overnight in Amsterdam on the way, where he started talking to a man who led him to a deserted area of the city.

Danny was stabbed in Amsterdam on 1 June

"I think his downfall was that he was a naïve young man that thought that everybody was just out for a nice time and was as sociable as he was," said his mother.

CCTV seen by Danny's family shows the man pulling out a knife and Danny running away. He chased Danny, who was then stabbed multiple times.

A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and is due in court on 3 November.

Danny's family do not know was the motive was, but suspect it might have been a robbery.

Danny's sister has created a clothing line inspired by him

Money raised by the family is being donated to the Ben Kinsella Trust, which runs knife crime workshops in partnership with the National Justice Museum in Nottingham.

Danny's sister, 20-year-old Chloe Castledine, has created a clothing line called DRIPPYLikeDANNY, and 10% of the money from sales will be donated to the Ben Kinsella Trust.

"Danny was very into his fashion," said his mother.

"She [Chloe] started to design hoodies and T-shirts, and each item of clothing is unique to Danny.

"The two little ducks design was from his Leeds friends, because he always used to call them 'duck'."

Chloe said she and her brother had been close because they were so similar in age.

"He was just so sociable and he just made everyone smile and laugh and he has just touched so many people that have just been left devastated by this," she said.

"We were the best of friends really."

More than 60 of Danny's family and friends also did a 10-mile charity walk to Black Rocks in Derbyshire, which was one of his favourite places.

"We've got to be doing more to tackle people who are carrying these weapons, because if they are carrying them and they get into some problem, they're going to use them," said his mother.

"Danny didn't suspect for one minute that this man would be carrying a knife or that he would turn on him. They were having a nice sociable laugh together and then, the next minute, it was the end."

Patrick Green, CEO of The Ben Kinsella Trust, said: "Knife crime is yet again on the rise, so we are incredibly grateful for the donation made by the Castledine family.

"The funds raised through Danny's legacy will be used to keep young people safe by educating them about the dangers of carrying a knife."