Mum's plea on knife crime ahead of football match

The mother of a 15‑year‑old boy who was stabbed to death at school is raising awareness of knife crime ahead of Sheffield United's match against Coventry City.

Harvey Willgoose was murdered by fellow pupil Mohammed Umar Khan at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield just over a year ago.

Since his death, Harvey's mother, Caroline Willgoose, has campaigned for knife arches and bleed‑control kits to be installed in schools .

Willgoose, who will speak at the Bramall Lane stadium later, said Sheffield United had been "amazing" in supporting her efforts and urged fans and the wider community "to stand with me in making our schools safer".

In October, Harvey's killer Khan, also 15, was detained for life with a minimum term of 16 years.

An independent review into his Harvey's death, which was commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi‑Academy Trust (SCCMAT), found school leaders "could, and at times should, have taken different action".

Willgoose said her speech would be about the "pure devastation that knife crime brings" and that schools needed to do more to tackle the issue.

She added: "Children know there are knives in school. Harvey knew there were knives in school days before. They need to feel safe going into school.

"Schools are hiding from it. They think if they've got a knife arch then they've got a knife problem, but that's not the case, it's about preventing it."

Willgoose said she expected her speech to be "very emotional" but that Harvey would be with her.

"It feels like he's guiding me. I would have never believed that I would be able to get on a stage and speak about knife crime but I'm not even nervous, and it's our Harvey, he's carrying me through."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North