Ben Moncrieff: Boy, 16, jailed for life for his murder

Police said Ben Moncrieff was "in the wrong place at the wrong time"

A teenager who murdered an 18-year-old "peacemaker" outside a McDonald's restaurant has been jailed for life.

Ben Moncrieff, from Bath, was stabbed in the chest by a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on Southgate Street, in the city on 6 May.

He had stepped in to break up a row when he was attacked.

The defendant, from south London, was found guilty of murder in October and has been handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years.

Mr Moncrieff's mother, Sharon Hendry, told Bristol Crown Court: "I feel totally destroyed and now have a life sentence without Ben."

Mr Moncrieff had been on a night out with friends when he was stabbed.

The defendant, who was 15-years-old at the time of the attack and under the influence of nitrous oxide, had brought the knife to the scene in his waistband.

The two teens did not know one another and police later said Mr Moncrieff "happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Mr Moncrieff died at about 03:30 BST on 6 May after going on a "rare night out"

Mark Cotter KC, prosecuting, said: "The defendant entered into an argument with a friend of Mr Moncrieff and Mr Moncrieff entered as a peacemaker."

Mr Moncrieff was invited to "come around the corner" where he was stabbed. He died of his injuries at the scene.

The defendant fled and dumped the weapon.

Sentencing the teenager, Judge Peter Blair KC told him he had had "wanted to show off" and carried out "an act of stupid childish bravado".

He added that given the "devastating" impact on Mr Moncrieff's family, friends and the local community, no sentence could be considered long enough.

He said Mr Moncrieff's "memory will live on" and "as a consequence, no-one is going to remember the child in the dock whose senseless act has robbed them of a life".

Ms Hendry said her son had "filled our home with his friends, laughter, and made our home a happy place, full of life".

"I did not have the chance to hold Ben and tell him how much I love him," she said.

"I was too late, I couldn't comfort Ben. [It was] a mum's worst nightmare."

Jeremy Wainwright KC, defending, said his client had been diagnosed with ADHD and had acted "impulsively" and made "inappropriate decisions".

"He was out and about at the time with older people who had possibly a negative effect upon him," he said.

Mr Moncrieff was described as a "peacemaker" for his efforts to diffuse the argument that led to his death

Speaking after the sentencing, the senior investigating officer for Avon and Somerset Police, Det Insp Mark Newbury, said the 16-year-old had made a "conscious decision to take a knife with him that day and attack a defenceless young man".

"Ben was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

"He was an innocent man trying to defend a friend when he was stabbed and killed.

"It is clear how loved Ben was and how much he will always be missed by those who knew him."