Mum of fatal stab victim Ricky Hayden gets Pride of Britain nomination

Sue Hedges' son, Ricky Hayden, was stabbed to death outside his home in Chadwell Heath on September 13, 2016.

Ricky, 27, worked as a doorman at Kosho Bar in South Street in Romford, which is now called Jukebox LDN.

He and his father, Paul Hayden, were attacked with a knife as they tried to stop a moped being stolen.

His killer, Tommy Roome, who was 19 at the time, was jailed for 14 years in September 2017. 

Devastated by her son's death, Sue had to move houses and leave her job behind.

She started raising awareness about knife crime and donating bleed kits that can save a victim’s life in case of a knife attack.

Sue Hedges (right) with Ricky's sister April by his memorial bench at the Forest Park Crematorium in Hainault (Image: Archant)

Now she has been nominated for a Pride of Britain award, which recognise remarkable achievements.

If Sue is shortlisted, she could be honoured at an awards ceremony that is usually shown on ITV.

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One of the bleed kits, Sue said, was used when a student of New City College was stabbed in February this year.

But carrying on an initiative of this scale on a voluntary basis has been an uphill task for her.

She told this paper: “It has been very difficult. We are not government funded so we raise money through raffles and community donations.”

She said she believes more needs to be done to contain knife crimes in Havering that have become an “everyday occurrence”.

She added: “Today there is a police task force in Havering, the stop and searches in Romford are doing a fantastic job.

"But it is down to local authorities, the Mayor of London and the government to step up and do their part too."

All the professionals, she said, must “come together” and tackle the root of the problem. 

A lot of teenagers, she claimed, are carrying knives today out of “protection” as they are frightened on the streets. But this can often result in a catastrophe, Sue said.

Campaign against knife crime promoted at an event in memory of Ricky Hayden (Image: Sue Hedges)

She said: “There is a high chance that if they are carrying a knife, it may be used on them or someone else if something occurs."

Sue also would like to see tougher punishments for those caught in possession of a knife.

In the next phase of her campaign work, she wants to go into schools and share her story in the hope that it will make kids see the consequences of knife crime.

She added: “They ought to know how it can tear a family apart and that it is not just them who will suffer."