'I held Kayser as he lay gasping'

Church End estate, run by a housing association, is next to the notorious Stonebridge Estate, once dubbed the most dangerous in Britain.

It is plagued by some of the problems of Stonebridge - such as drug dealing, teenage vandalism and gunplay - but nothing on the same scale.

However, the mood is grim as neighbours of the victim struggle to take in the tragic events of last night.

One man, who calls himself Ace, told today how he tried to comfort Kayser as he lay dying. "I was walking to my car last night and saw two lots of youths. The two guys in one group were walking quickly towards the other and one had what looked like a kitchen knife.

"When he caught up to the boy he turned so I couldn't see the knife but then he stooped down. It was as if he was having to do that to get the knife through the boy's coat."

Ace, 30, said he ran over to the stricken victim. He claims that, as he did, one of the assailants turned to him and said: "Tell your friend I'll get the rest of them."

He added: "I opened his coat and blood gushed out. I rang the police and the operator told me to press a cloth or something against the wound but I didn't want to leave him.

"He was just gasping. I kept saying 'don't fall asleep'. I told him he would be in trouble with me if he did. But while I was holding him he seemed to lose consciousness."

Ace added, poignantly: "I was stabbed myself two years ago and as I saw the knife I recalled that."