Knife plea of boy's parents

The parents of a teenager stabbed to death by a 15-year-old stranger have joined a growing campaign to tackle Britain's burgeoning knife culture.

Robert Levy, 16, was a model student who wanted to become an architect. But he was killed trying to protect a smaller child from a school bully.

He died yards from his home after suffering three knife wounds. His father, Ian Levy, 43, said: "The Government has got to curb this culture that has taken off. I do not want this to happen to another family.

"People are detached from it at the moment but they do not know if their family will be next. Kids do not really realise or think of the impact of their actions with a knife."

His pleas echo those made recently in the Evening Standard by Antoinette Rodney. Her son Kieran Rodney-Davies, 15, was stabbed to death near his home in Fulham last June. His mother is backing a new campaign called Knives Destroy Lives, launched by the Victims of Crime Trust.

Robert was attacked outside Hackney town hall. His killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has a history of violence and now faces a life sentence for murder.

Robert's parents, both college lecturers and committed churchgoers, say their son's decision to intervene was a "natural reaction". "He was brought up believing that if he saw anyone needing help then he should help," said his mother, Patricia, who lectures in adult education. "Robert would not have thought whether he would get hurt."

Six months on, the Levys are trying to get on with their lives, helped by the killer's conviction this month.

But at their terrace house only 50 yards from where their son died, Mr Levy, an auto-engineering lecturer, said: "This boy did not just kill Robert, he killed all of us."

Robert's brothers, Nathaniel, 27, and Christopher, 19, want to know how the killer was allowed to roam the streets unchecked despite a history of violent behaviour that had seen him excluded from school on nine occasions over two years. He had previously threatened another boy with a knife. Mrs Levy, 48, said: "We need answers."

Mr Levy said: "We could not move on until we knew this boy was going to be punished. I am ecstatic about the verdict. To be blunt, it was the only one we could really accept."