'Split-second decisions can last a lifetime'

Almost 200 youngsters have now taken part in a scheme aimed at showing the devastation caused by knife crime.

Northumbria Police launched the initiative following the death of 18-year-old Connor Brown, who was stabbed five times after an argument outside a Sunderland pub in 2019.

It sees virtual reality used to replay the murder investigation from a trainee detective's perspective.

The latest group of teenagers - the ninth in all - spent a week at Northumberland College's Kirkley Hall campus in Ponteland where they were taken through each step of the probe, with Brown's family also describing how his death changed their lives.

Working alongside policing, health and education teams, events leading up to the attack were explored, as well as how evidence was collected and analysed.

The investigation saw Leighton Barrass jailed for a minimum of 20 years after being convicted of murder.

Ch Insp Angela Hewitt said the youngsters had "engaged fully with everything put to them" as part of "such an important project".

"We hope that from taking the time to complete the programme they will be able to share with their peers about why arming yourself with a weapon is never, ever the right decision," she added.

"To parents and carers, our advice remains the same - please continue to have those difficult conversations with the children and young people you care for around knife crime, a vital issue which we as police cannot alone solve.

"If you are concerned about where the children you care for are going and who they are hanging out with, emphasise to them that a split-second decision involving a weapon can have life-lasting consequences not only for you, but for your friends and family as well."

A trial at Newcastle Crown Court in 2019 heard the 18-year-old and a friend encountered Barrass and Ally Gordon in the alley near The Borough pub and an argument about drugs and an alleged debt of £5 ended in a fight.

Brown suffered five stab wounds, one of them to the heart, and he died in hospital shortly afterwards.

Barrass, 20, of Hartside Square, Sunderland, denied murder but was convicted by a jury.

Gordon, also 20, of the city's Polmuir Road, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for three years and six months.

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