Surrounded by pictures of her second eldest child in her lounge, Cameron Hamilton’s mother Sarah stumbles over her words as she imagines how things could have turned out so differently had a teenager not brought a knife to Bournemouth town centre on a Friday night.
“Cam was just a lovely, good boy who unfortunately got into a scrap,” the 37-year-old digital creator tells The Independent.
“He would have been arrested for fighting and I would have grounded him for months. I would love to have been able to do it.”
But Cameron, aged just 18, died after being stabbed in the chest with a 12.5cm blade during a fight in the town’s public square in August 2023.
She has channelled her grief to set up a petition calling on the government to make carrying a blade of any length illegal.
As the law stands, it is still legal to carry folding pocket knives with a cutting edge no longer than 3 inches (7.62cm).
“Cameron died from wounds just 5cm deep,” Ms Hamilton says. “The blade sliced through the left ventricle of his heart.
“He didn’t even make it to hospital. His liver had a wound as well, all from a 5cm cut. Five centimetres doesn’t sound like a lot but Cam was 6ft tall and slim. Your vital organs are a lot closer to the surface than you think.”
This month, nine months on from the death of her son, Ms Hamilton got a breaking news notification that brought the pain back: the death of 14-year-old schoolboy Daniel Anjorin, who was attacked with a sword in Hainault, east London.
Despite being 150 miles away, it felt close to home.
“Since Cam’s death I have seen breaking news of children being killed all over the country,” Ms Hamilton says.
“It brings back the day it happened to you, finding out the news – your mind just spirals.
”I try to empathise with other mums who are in my position now. It is heartbreaking but you will never know truly what it is like until it happens to you.
She adds: “There is no reason for anyone to have a weapon on them. People say they need it for protection but if you have it on you you are more likely to use it.”
Cameron’s killer Thomas Betteridge, 18, was cleared of murder after claiming he acted in self-defence but was convicted of manslaughter and knife possession at Bournemouth Crown Court last month.
The judge said the defendant, of Southsea, Hampshire, was drunk and affected by cocaine during the fight. He imposed a nine-year sentence at a young offender institution with a further three years on licence.
If Ms Hamilton’s petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons.
Asked what she would tell the prime minister if given the opportunity, she says: “How many more lives are we going to lose?
“Knife crime is on the rise and there are lots of other families all saying the same thing but nothing is happening. The government is in denial.
“When are we going to put real value on a human life? Everyone can talk about knife crime but the only people who can make a change is the government.”
Lennie Hansen, also 18, of Waterlooville, was convicted of bringing the 12.5cm knife that Betteridge used for the fatal stabbing. He was charged with possession but Ms Hamilton wants a new charge brought in for when a knife is used by someone else to kill.
She says: “Something good has to come out of such a tragedy for my family. Cam would be cheering me on. I know he gives me the strength.
“I miss everything about him. His sense of humour, he was incredibly funny, and his laugh. We would send each other memes all the time. You don’t realise you miss the little things the most.
“He was so kind and great for his siblings. It would be great to get change before his younger brother is ready to go out.”
