Remembering Sophie Lancaster 15 years on - the girl beaten to death just because she looked different

She was innocently walking home through a park with her boyfriend when violence erupted. Sophie Lancaster was taunted by groups of youths and mocked for how she looked. She was pushed to the ground, kicked and viciously stamped on, to the point she was hospitalised and relying on life support.

It is little over 15 years ago to the day - August 24 2007 - that Sophie Lancaster's mum Sylvia made the heart wrenching decision to turn off her life support as doctors said she had no chance of survival. She died 20 minutes later. She was killed just because she looked different.

It was the early hours of August 11 when Sophie and her boyfriend Robert Maltby came across the gang of youths in Stubbylee Park. As the young couple crossed the skatepark, dressed in their heavy boots and goth-style clothing they were subjected to jeers of "mosher", "weirdo" and "freak" as the gang taunted them for the way they dressed.

READ MORE: The mum who lost her daughter for simply being different

Within minutes, Robert, 21, was knocked unconscious. Sophie, 20, was cradling her boyfriend in her arms as the gang turned on her, kicking her and volleying her head like a football as she lay helplessly on the ground. One horrified witness told police "they were running over and just kicking her in the head and jumping up and down on her head".

As the couple were rushed to hospital with serious head injuries, their attackers bragged about "doing summat good". One boasted: "There's two moshers nearly dead up Bacup park – you wanna see them – they're a right mess" Lancs Live reports.

At the beginning of the criminal trial into Sophie's death at Preston Crown Court on 10 March, 2008, five boys pleaded guilty to the charge of grievous bodily harm with