Instead of loved ones I'm visiting cemetery after losing my son

Mandy has promised to continue campaigning against knife crime

Instead of seeing loved ones I'm visiting the cemetery after my son was taken from me

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A heart-broken mum visited her son's grave instead of celebrating by his side this Christmas.

Mandy Jamieson held her son Daniel in her arms as he lay dying after sustaining a fatal stab wound. She is still haunted by his final words as he said: "Mum, I just want to go to sleep."

As many people celebrate the Christmas season with friends and family, Mandy said she will be hiding herself away as she cannot bear to spend another Christmas without her son. She continues to campaign against knife crime in the region, something which she says is "out of control".

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She told the ECHO: "Every Christmas I isolate myself away from everyone, I don't move outside the door unless it's to the cemetery. It's soul destroying knowing he should be here and he's not.

"Christmas kills me, all I do is cry. I've got PTSD and struggle to sleep but I pray I sleep longer so the day goes, it's emotionally crucifying. Daniel loved Christmas. Everyone is visiting family and I'm visiting the cemetery."

Daniel was just 16 when he bled to death following a pre-arranged "straightener" in Nook Park in July 2018. The teenager was unarmed but was stabbed in the leg in front of dozens of onlookers. Owen Cousins, of Redwood Road, Gateacre, was later found guilty of manslaughter.

On the night of July 3, Mandy received a knock on the door of her home to tell her "your son has been stabbed". The woman soon drove Mandy to Belle Vale Road where she found her son, "lying on the floor, covered in blood”. Since then, she has lived with an immense amount of pain, with “every single day” being the exact same.

Ever since, Mandy has been campaigning against knife crime, regularly visiting schools and hosting remembrance events for victim families. She has also teamed up with Leeann White, Ava White's mum, to make a change in the city.

Mandy promised she will not stop in the new year, as she added: "Everyone has to take notice. It's not 'grassing' when a child is taken from its mother. This 'grass' mentality needs to stop and parents need to check their children for weapons.

"Please, this Christmas, just think. It's about safety. I never thought it could happen to me but it did. And it's hard, we don't want anyone else to struggle like us.

"To have a child taken, the grief is profound and it's permanent. I always feel I'm losing my head and next year Daniel's killer will probably be released and there's nothing that can be done about that."

Remembering her much-loved son, Mandy said: "He was just amazing. I remember one Christmas I promised to get him a PlayStation and I hid it. He was gutted when he didn't open it so when he got it he was hysterical, kissing the face off of me, he was so funny. He was just the male version of me.

"It makes me so angry, there needs to be more of a deterrent, kids these days don't care and it's getting worse."

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