'This is lesson to young people who think it's okay to go out there and use a knife'

Kemoy Walker has made it his business to help tackle knife crime.

Growing up in Moss Side, he has become a respected figure in the community and an ambassador for the area. He works with young people, to try and set them on the right path.

So when his own nephew was murdered, stabbed to death in broad daylight by another boy, Kemoy began questioning himself. “It’s heartbreaking when it comes to your door,” he tells the Manchester Evening News the day after two 16-year-old boys were sentenced for murdering his 17-year-old nephew, Prince Walker-Ayeni.

“A few people have said that to me, ‘look at the work you do Kemoy, and this has happened to you’. It’s heartbreaking.

READ MORE: Teenagers who murdered Prince Walker-Ayeni face justice as judge makes ruling on their identities being revealed

“It has been a devastating year. Losing someone so close, somebody that lived with myself and my mum. We always saw Prince every day.

“It’s that waking up, and no longer seeing him anymore. I remember sometimes waking up and having a little bit of a cry. I’m in shock that Prince is no longer there.

“You always think about what could have been done. Could I have moved Prince out of the area? Moss Side is a great community, but I think with young people in general sometimes you just think could you have done more?

“As a youth worker and a member of the community, I always reflect and think, ‘could I have done anything different?’ That’s what I think about, over and over again.”

It was April 4, earlier this year, when Prince was killed. Kemoy was on his way to London when he got the call.

Prince was just days away from his 18th birthday. He was waiting for that landmark day so he was old enough to start on his path into work.

Instead,