Brooke Kinsella

THE sister of a teenager who was fatally stabbed 17 years ago has paid tribute to her brother at the beginning of Knife Crime Awareness Week.

Brooke Kinsella, a former EastEnders actress, said that time had done little to ease her loss, and urged people to support the trust set up in her brother Ben’s name.

She said: “Ben has now been gone from our lives longer than we ever had him. It’s been 17 years since his murder and the pain never stops.

Ben Kinsella

“Through the Ben Kinsella Trust our family has relentlessly pursued the goal of ending knife crime, but we know that we can’t do this alone.”

Ben was murdered in York Way in 2008 while he was out celebrating his GCSE results. In the wake of the horrific attack, his family established the trust in his name.

Knife Crime Awareness Week comes to an end on Sunday but Ms Kinsella said it “highlights the work that is being done to ensure other families don’t experience the trauma and pain that we all went through”.